Sabertooth's Daughter
by Victoria Wolf
Summary: This is an alternate sequel to XMan. Sabertooth survived and he has a daughter. She is his only chance for a ‘normal’ life and a life away from fighting maybe even his redemption, and way to salvation for all of the brotherhood. Uncle Logan? NOT Mary Sue
1. Chapter 1

Hi I'm Victoria Wolf. ) Nice to see _someone _is reading my fic. Yeah! R&R please, and no flames please. Thanks.

_Summary: This is an alternate sequel to X-Man. Sabertooth survived and he has a daughter. She is his only chance for a 'normal' life and a life away from fighting, maybe even his redemption, and way to salvation for all of the brotherhood. Granddad Magneto, Aunt Mystique, and ... Uncle Logan?_

Disclaimer: I don't **own** ANY of the X-men characters... ... ... YET! Muh Ha Ha Ha, but I have them under my bed. Shhh, don't tell my parents.

"Mom, Dad, can you get your stuff out my closet. The room under the bed can't hold all of my 'stuff'." )

"Maybe later honey."

"Poo." ;;

_Chapter 1_

Sabertooth was anxious, he hated going in to the town so close to the base. Everyone there was a mutant hater. It was a small town, only a hundred or so people.

Even with such small populace they could overtake the two mutants ridding in the car, but only because Sabertooth was on a "NO killing" or "cruelty/violence/brutality/etc around my daughter" RULE. This rule was there because not only didn't he want his daughter to witness what most of his life was like, but also she was sensitive to violence and liked humans (kind of).

He didn't see why Alex even wanted to go there. He looked over at the small kid. Well, she wasn't small; she was 5 foot 11, and still growing. And, she wasn't a kid any more; she was seventeen. Not that it mattered what age she was; she'll always be his BABY.

He knew she was excited because it was over five minutes in the car and she had yet to fall asleep. Almost as though she knew what he was thinking she turned towards him.

"Dad, are we there," yawn, "yet?"

"How long have we been in the car?" He asked. Disregarding his last thought as ALMOST impossible, since the last time she read thoughts when she was awake was when she was two.

"18.5 minutes." Alex replied with out hesitation.

"And how long did I say it was going to be?"

Alex stiffened doing her best to imitate him with out shape shifting because that will mess up her transmitter. "'We'll get there in 25 minutes if I have to pick up that hunk of shit and throw it there.'"

Sabertooth's head snapped to the side. "What did you say?"

"Sorry dad. But I only repeat what I hear."

"Maybe you heard it wrong." He mumbled though he knew that she was right because she has a perfect memory along with other 'gifts'. They still don't know what is her full potential. It seems like every day she comes up with a new power.

The equally quiet mumble of, "you wish." Reminded him of her impeccable hearing.

"What's the time on us now?"

"24.3 minutes and closing."

"Good because we're here!"

He watched as her eyes lit up. Then, a second thought clouded her happiness for a second, she then voiced her fear. "Is my transmitter working?" Checking in the mirror, finding to her satisfaction that she had blond hair that came to rest at her shoulders, it was strait except for a small curling inwards style at the front that frame her face. Her now blue eyes still had a question in them.

"Yes." He replied, proud at not letting his anger show that His daughter had to wear a transmitter to cover up the beautiful blue skin and red eyes.

Mystique, yet another mutant that wasn't with them at the present time, thought that it was amazing even though they had no ties at all in family (except through the brotherhood) that their coloring was so alike, except that Alex's hair was blue with red strips not just red, and her eyes were red not yellow. They had the same beautiful form; though he found he was sexually attracted to neither. _THANK GOD FOR THAT! The small blessings are the most cherished._

"Love you Dad! See you in a little while!" Alex shouted as she jumped out of the still moving car. Sabertooth parked the car and sat to wait for her. He surveyed his surroundings.

A small restaurant, a mini mall, a laundry mat, and an old out of the way gas station concluded the surroundings. He knew that if he kept driving he would encounter a school for all ages, and a hotel. The rest of the land were houses making this place a regular everyone-knows-everyone-else, and kids'-dream-of-leaving type of place.

It hit about thirty minutes into Alex's shopping spree, that VERY bad feeling. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach. That weird clenching feeling that started deep down in your gut, like when you're getting looked at by someone you love like you're a monster. He knew from experience what that felt like. It crawled up his spine and spread all over his body. He had felt THAT feeling before; the last time was because of Alex's mom, Rebecca.

_**Fourteen Years Earlier**_

**3-13-1990**

_Victor was headed towards Rebecca's apartment. He had just finished with a BIG case that had him away for three years. He wasn't with the brotherhood yet. He had sent Rebecca letters, none ever having a return address for safety reasons. He was SINGING he was in such a good mood, the flowers next to him were fresh and lively, when he had **THAT** feeling. _

_He grunted in pain and navigated over to the side of the road in a hurry, missing three cars by a hair's breath; he sat there and turned off his engine hoping it would go away. But it didn't go away it got worse. Then he had this feeling like his heart was being torn out. His eyes snapped open when he heard the voice; it was so soft that he almost doubted if it was real. _

_But no he heard it again, "Help... "_ _It was so sad that it brought tears to his eyes. _

_He looked around as if to find the source, his short blond hair moving after him, but in a second he realized it was in his HEAD! _"Please... help... ."_ He heard it again this time MUCH fainter barely audible even though it was in his head. "I'll help just WHERE are you?" Sabertooth asked it out loud. _

_Then he felt this feeling pulling him forward, he instantly hesitated his instincts telling him to run, but in mere moments it was becoming an unbearable force, pushing, pulling, shoving, forcing him to go forward. _

_He started the engine and moved forward; a mile up he felt as it start to lean right, he passed the turn the feeling wanted to make and it pushed down at him, he slammed the breaks and turned around, he turned right at the place it wanted to go and the pressure let up. And so on. _

_He was just getting the hang of things when things were starting to get very familiar, he realized where they were going, REBECCA'S APARTMENT! He sped up and was there in ten minutes ignoring the pressure that was soon disappearing, having done it's work._

_He pushed the door of it's hinges the second he arrived and the smell of blood hit him hard. " REBECCA! REBECCA WHERE ARE YOU!" _

"_Over here." Came a weak reply. _

"_Rebecca... no. Please don't leave me." Victor cried as he saw the mess before him. _

It's strange what stuck in his mind the most was what she looked like then compared to before._ Rebecca's luscious blond hair was red drenched and clotting in a pool of blood. She was bleeding from a knife wound in her side and small cuts were all over her. Aside from the knife in her side the worse wounds were on her arms, defensive wounds Victor realized. She was wearing her customary sundress the tiger lilies, her favorite flower, drowning in red instead of white. Her favorite lipstick colored her lips, Victorian Secret #47, the spaghetti she had been about to eat was untouched on the table, except for the blood and a few overturned chairs the apartment was also untouched by this violent and wrong fight._

"_Rebecca... . No God no. Don't leave me please." Victor begged. Grabbing at his cell phone he called 911. _

"_911 what's your emergency?" A cold male voice came over the phone. _

_Victor couldn't find his voice… pain closed his throat._

"_No don't call them I'm fine. I'm fine…" Rebecca's eyes were glazed over by pain, they cleared a little as she spoke. "Victor, they took her... . THEY TOOK HER!" It came out with a sob. _

"_Hello are you okay sir?" The voice sounded worried. "Are you in need of assistance? Hello? You called from a cell we can't get your location hello."_

_Victor hung up unable to do anything and already knowing that they couldn't either. As he had approached her he could see something he had missed large bruises showed around the cloth that hadn't been stained with blood, the ribs were probably broken, more then likely puncturing one of her lungs. Blood already leaked around her mouth and she coughed blood._

"_Took WHO, who did they take?" Victor asked trying to keep his voice soothing, wondering who had called him to Rebecca. She was completely human, no powers. Not that it had changed his love for her. He scooped her head and placed it in his lap, ignoring the blood that stained his pants. "Tell me who took whom." He said still calm, him yelling at her wasn't going to help. Neither was crying. _

"_Our baby girl... . They took our baby girl... " Rebecca whimpered. _

"_But... I have a daughter?" Victor replied numbly. "When did this happen?"_

"_Twelve days after you," cough, "left I found out I was two months pregnant. I had her seven months," cough, "later, she was an early, but healthy baby. The only thing was she was blue, had red eyes, blue with red striped hair, and was TOO intelligent. By 2 months she could talk like a one year old. She even asked about you later at age one." Sob. "I miss her SO much. Oh my poor baby... my poor baby Alexandra. She's only 2 and a half. She's all alone." _

_Of course THAT was the voice in his head. He had a daughter AND she had a 'gift'. "Honey we need to get you to the hospital." _

"_It's too late... they got me a while ago... I'm going to die honey. I'm sorry. But please find... our daughter." Rebecca's admission and plea did nothing to calm Victor. _

"_But I don't even know what she looks like. How will I find her?" Victor replied already feeling animosity toward his own child because of what happened to Rebecca. Victor would have given anything to feel proud and joyful at hearing he was a father, that's the way he always saw himself reacting. That was not the case._

_Victor figured some mutant haters found out about the child and came to abduct her, but Rebecca wouldn't stand for it and probably attacked them trying to defend the little almost three year old. Resulting in her getting stabbed._

"_There are... some pictures in the scrap book under the bed." Rebecca said bringing him into the now. "Promise that you will find her, keep her safe, and care for her... forever." Cough "I love y... " She went limp in his arms not getting to finish her sentence._

"_But you can't leave me!" Victor said desperately, tears taking home in his eyes for the first time sense he was a child. "Please ... don't ... leave. I love you!" But it was too late. He knew she was gone. "I promise... I promise to find Alexandra... " _

_**A Little Over Two Years Later**_

**12-9-1992**

"_Hulls been breached please exit out the nearest stairwell." Said a mechanical voice over the intercoms. _

Not again. _Five-year-old Alex thought. _They won't get me ever again with that trick.

_She was well accustomed to the drill. Some mutant would come barging in being/sent by her 'father'. They then would grab her, pretending to 'save' her. Shooting some people, using weapons, and killing others with their powers/bare hands/guns or in some instances everyone would be gone. _

_A number of times they were stopped and she was laughed at right there in the hall or lobby. Recently they would take her out of the building gain her trust, then throw it right back at her; sometimes sending for back up, others taking her when she slept. _

_That was a flaw she had yet to remedy, she slept till her body decided she should wake-up. She was sometimes aware even in her sleep. But she couldn't change anything or respond; she was always at their mercy. But she only REALLY fell asleep, the kind with dreams after a HUGE replenishing act. Like when they cut her up and set her bones with metal. _

_During anesthesia she had a different reaction, mostly she got lost in her memories, but sometimes it was like if she feel asleep. _

_When she felt REALLY safe or was trying to escape through her dreams she would have normal 'dreams'. Most of her dreams were of a golden haired man, with feral/wild eyes that where like a tigers, almost every time the dreams are like memories, all his memories. Some were happy, most were of death and destruction - killing and torture; most of others, those were physical; some of himself as a child, those were a mix of every kind of torture you can imagine. _

_If that was a how TRUE father treated their kids she by no means wanted to meet hers, even if her mother had said so many magnificent things to her about him. The closest thing she ever had to what was like the father her mother painted is her keeper that some times splits his sandwich with her and talks to her like a real person not like some freak. _

_But he was still more a brother. He never looked down at her, he never cared that she was a mutant probably because he is a mutant. She called him Froggie; something that she has done since she arrived probably because she was still a little kid and needed a friend. He was only 15, but he was also a brother to her. He was in charge of keeping her cell clean and her entertained. _

_She still longed to meet the man from her dreams. Some times when she fell asleep she would see what was happening to him, looking through his eyes. _

_She sighed even IF that man or his clone were to show up even now she would be suspicious of him, especially since the last man to win her trust, "Uncle" Logan, had gotten her secret from her. She had been so happy when she had seen him, she remembered him from before. Uncle Logan had been there for her and her mom. _

_Logan was her mom's brother, what she didn't realize was that he always thought of his mutation as a great way to live through the wars. What better soldier is there then one that can pick himself up after getting shot by a machine gun and be ready in minutes to do it again? _

_When she had seen him she thought that for once this must be real, that finally she was free. Only once he had handed her back over after two weeks of "freedom" did he reveal the truth. That he had told the men about her ability to heal, that he had told them where to find her, and that they were cutting her up to find out how best to place the metal, and which ones 'their' bodies will reject. That had just about killed her._

_Back to her original train of thought Alex knew it wouldn't be surprising if they broadcast this feral man's memories so that they can send him out after her and have it be even more embarrassing and defeating. _

_The entire time she was thinking about all of this the 'intruder' moved through the facility. Alex let her metal claws slide in and out of her skin. They had just finished her, again. Not an hour ago she had finished healing. She wondered if this was the set they would keep or if they would extract it from her like the others and try something new._

_She waited; she knew the drill, sometimes right before they appeared the electricity would cut off so the electrical currents wouldn't shock and kill the 'intruder/rescuer' the other times they would show up and ask her how to turn off the electricity. _

_Even then she had no chance of escaping without help from the other side, because the bars are made out of a certain metal, almost the same as her claws. _

_She called it Absorbing metal, Abbie metal for short. She called it this because the scientists had found a way for the metal to act like bone, growing, changing shape as she did, but unbreakable like adamantium and it absorbs other metal it comes in contact to for more then 30 seconds. _

_He appeared and her breath caught in her throat. _THOSE ASSHOLES HOW COULD THEY DO THAT!_ She had expected it, but it didn't ease the pain. She almost sobbed aloud, but she was careful. They would NOT see her cry she won't let them win like that. So the golden haired man, with feral/wild eyes that were like a tigers, looked over at where she sat stiffly. He inspected the bars, which were still electrocuted. _

"_Huh, do you know how to turn this thing off?" Feral man asked. _

Poor actor, _Alex thought as she studied him._ He can barely even keep the contempt and disgust out of NORMAL people's notice, with my practice at hearing it every day I can distinguish it clearly.

_She lifted a bored hand and pointed behind him to the circuit breaker and keys. _

"_Thanks." He replied in a mumble._

_He quickly disarmed and opened the doors. Alex stood just as stiffly as she had been sitting. Rising to her full 3' 7" she was roughly half his size. _

"_Come on lets go, kid." Feral man said. _

"_No." Alex said in a calm, cool, collecting voice. _

"_What?" Sabertooth couldn't believe what he was hearing._ Did this scrawny little, bloodied, dirty, SKINNY kid just say that she didn't want to leave? IMPOSSIBLE!

_Even if she wanted to stay he has a promise to fulfill, and he doesn't break a promise unless someone else breaks it first. "Tough you're leaving whether you like it or not." Sabertooth said stepping up to her, trying to intimidate her. _

BIG MISTAKE!_ Alex thought as she punched him in the stomach. Extending her claws at the last moment so she stabbed deep into him. Tensing ready for the blow she knew she would provoke._

_Sabertooth let out a ROAR of outrage and pain. He held back the urge to kill her. _Deep breathes. Calm down. REMEMBER THE PROMISE. REMEMBER THE PROMISE. REMEMBER THE PROMISE. REMEMBER THE PROMISE. REMEMBER THE... _The thought ended as she twisted her claws, slicing organs and muscle. _

_Sabertooth attacked her. Raising a clawed hand he pushed her back as well as dislodging the claws. _

_Alex went crashing into the wall. She was denied the bliss of darkness, but had to drag herself up. She knew a way to make him attack all out. She shape shifted into a wolf._

_It was one of her favorite forms, she always felt so free in the body of a wolf, even as she sat in this prison. She let the animal take over and curled up into a ball deep within the beast. The wolf opened up it's arms and welcomed her into it's center, as much as she wanted to hide she needed to be up here adding to the wolves brains, reflexes, and instincts. _

_She guessed that this form would enrage him even more then before. Due to his ummm-catlike qualities. _Please let this work._ Alex thought desperately._

_Sabertooth was in a rage. He was lost in a sea of red, trying to remember what he had to do, with no avail. The beast in him saw a dog, a nuisance that now leapt and attacked clinging on to his leg. He roared and slashed out. _

Perfect,_ Alex thought as she was laid open from nose to tail,_ keep coming. I won't ever have to endure it ever again.

_Alex was relentless, slashing in just to get laid open again. She was sustaining wounds to fast for her body to keep up. The heal factor, called factor H by the scientists or quicksilver by Alex herself, was drained from having to heal from the latest 'session'. She also hadn't eaten or slept in five days after having their shooting sessions; this was to weaken her so that they could cut her open without using the precious green liquid that takes the pain cuts it in half and keeps the wounds from closing immediately. She was paralyzed and restrained, just in case, so they could do it without her moving. _

_Alex was so close; she could feel it, taste it. _Almost there_, she was once again slashed almost cutting off her hind leg; the metal covering her bones stopped the claws. _Just a little more, please let this work._ It wouldn't be the first time that her body had resurrected itself even after all the wounds. But those times she had been at full strength. _

_Sabertooth slashed down, but all of this fighting was taking a toll on the 'kill factor' as he called it. The red was leaving, and that nagging was getting stronger. But the claws came down. Wolf girl was lying at his feet, bloody, torn; she looked like a rag doll covered in red paint. The only thing that didn't fit was the gasps for air and the metal gleaming in some places. _

What was I supposed to remember?_ Sabertooth asked himself, completely disregarding the nonmoving red, breathing, dog-like mess at his feet. _It's important. What was it... promise? It was about a promise I think. Promise about what? Alexandra that's right Alexandra... , but where is she?

_He looked around. "Alexandra? Where are you?" _

_That's when he saw her, the mess at his feet. The only reason that he even saw her was that her form was changing back, her body not wanting to waist it's energy on the shape. She had long ago perfected the art of morphing with clothes on and changing back with clothes on. She merely had to think of them as a second skin. _

_She had a lot of time to practice. Her powers had remained the same from birth, morphing, intelligence, healing, and memory. They didn't prosper in this enclosed space; she needs open space, time, better memories, and love in order for her powers to grow. _

"_Why?" He asked puzzled at why she had acted this way. Killed herself purposely, taunting him on. _

"_I'm not anyone's experiment any more." She said in a hoarse whisper, she smiled and then... 'passed on'. _

_He recognized that she probably thought him from another agency. In amazement he watched as her body still repaired itself even after death though just enough for her to start to live again. _

"_Good thing you have my healing ability, or I would be totally screwed." Sabertooth said to himself. "Why me?" He asked the wall. _

"_Sir." A private's voice came from the base's control center com-link. "The unidentified mutant has stopped fighting Mutant 0089. How will we precede Sir?" _

"_We will not interfere, she has lost her usefulness, and as long as mutant 01932 is still in his cage we are fine. Besides we have conditioned 0089 to believe that we're always behind these. This time she will be given to us legally after she starts killing the citizens in modern day life." Came a rough voice over the com-link to the base. _

"_... Oops." Came a scared, worried, weak voice from the other side. _

"_Private, please tell me that is mutant 01932 in his cell." _

"_Yes Sir. But the mutants are headed that way." _

"_As long as Wolverine is still in his cage, I'll be fine. Get out of there before the unknown mutant finds you all." _

"_Yes Sir." _

_Sabertooth had no idea that Wolverine was this way. If he did he wouldn't have left his childhood friend there; that is with the information he had so far. All he knew was this was the way food was. _

_He looked down at the bloody limp figure in his arms. He had tucked most of her organs back into her, using his body to keep most of the wounds closed and the organs in. _She needs food to get her healing factor working again._ He thought. _Just like mine. _A warm feeling spread through his body and his heart did a little flip._

_He looked down at the color altered, but perfect carbon copy of his Rebecca, when she was five of course. He stared down at this innocent yet tough five year-old and felt a strange melting in the region of his heart. _

Could this really be the tough ice child from the cell? _He thought. _No. That had to be some other child. The angry lines of her face were gone and she looks like an angle.

_He strode into the kitchen dripping blood behind him though not his anymore; he was done healing. The base was deserted; half-made sandwiches still out proved that they had left in a hurry. Sabertooth laid Alex down on a table and smelled his way to a can of soup. _Perfect!

_Sabertooth set about preparing soup for his fragile, beautiful, daughter_. Stop. Wait. Slow down. Rewind. Did I just say fragile, beautiful,daughter? She's the reason why Rebecca died... So why do I love her?"_I DON'T LOVE HER!" He let the last part slipped out of his mouth._

Yes you do.

"_Do not." _

To.

"_Not." _

To.

"_Not. Do not do not do not do not do not! "_

To...

"_Wait why am I fighting with my self? I always win." Dramatic pause. "Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do n... " He was cut off by the microwave's ding. _

What is that man doing? I can smell food. Food? Why won't they let me die? _The last part sounded too much like a whine for even her. _Who was he talking to? Why can't I hear them to? _Too much thinking her stomach growled. Traitorous stomach, she growled back._

_FOOOOOOOD Substance... Foooooood. It rumbled at her._

_Sabertooth was headed strait toward her when he heard/saw her stomach growl, it was sickening to watch. Fortunately the hole in it had healed so that the acid from her stomach was kept from spilling on to the floor. _

_Alex started shushing through the dream-world quicksand, _I may want to be dead, but I'm NOT letting them use me to experiment for Logan any more. _She finally surfaced feeling VERY groggy. _

"_Now how do I get her to swallow this?" Sabertooth asked aloud. He then sat down on one of the seats for the table, fully intending to spoon-feed her when her eyes snapped open. _

_Sabertooth was stunned at the red depth of those eyes, the old wisdom that was decidedly not good for a five-year-old to have. "She lives." Sabertooth said in a mock-horror-Frankensteinish way. "Guess I didn't do a good enough job." He remarked in a playful tone. "Don't let my bosses know okay. Can't get around that I miss my targets." The last he added with a grin trying to lighten the mood._

"_What is up with you?" Was the frowning five-year old's weak answer. _

"_It speaks to what a surp... " He let out a started yelp as the soup in his hand spilled over the edge thoroughly soaking and burning his hand and jeans. _

_Alex couldn't suppress a muffled laugh. _Look dinner and a show. I'm feeling better already.

_He shoved the bowl at the mutant lying on the table. "Ha. Ha. Eat this while I go clean up." Sabertooth said as he got up. _

_Alex looked down at the bowl in her hand. Of it's own record her hand lifted the first spoon full to her mouth. _This is WONDERFUL. _Alex thought. She instantly began shoveling it in her mouth. _

"_Whoa, whoa. Calm down, no ones going to take it from you." Sabertooth remarked as he saw what she was doing. A snort and her eating faster was the only reply to the playful comment he made. _

_That's when he realized that that is EXACTLY what these animals had done. _Nice going dipshit_. He mentally cursed himself. He watched in wonder as the deep cuts on her body began to heal starting with the opening to her organs. _Even I don't heal _that_ fast. Neither does Logan.

_By the time Alex had finished her meal all her wounds were completely healed. She was still hungry, but was used to the nag of hunger. She glanced up slowly at the feral man in front of her. He had cleaned off his jeans and hand and sat back down ten feet from her._

"_You done eating?" Sabertooth asked. _

"_Yeah." Came the weak creaky voice from across from him. Sabertooth found rage start to boil up out of nowhere, her voice reminded him of those hookers in bars. The ones that have seen too much hate, venom, and pain in their life, those who have lost all faith or hope. That was not a tone any five year old should ever use, especially His five year old._

"_Then lets go." _

"_No." Alex's voice was calm, but firm. She was confused as to why the man in front of her was so angry but she didn't really care._

_Sabertooth turned around; he had made it over half way across the room. "What?" _

_Alex looked at him, her eyes holding hate. "I'm not becoming the, butt of ya'lls sick joke anymore." _

"_Again I repeat, what?" Sabertooth stared at her disbelievingly. Suddenly he knew exactly what she was talking about._ They must have prepared for this day; hell I gave them plenty of time. They knew I was coming as I hunted down their people.

"_Stupid fucker." Sabertooth mumbled to himself, but Alex caught it. "Look I'm here to help." Sabertooth said. "You have to believe me I would not have hurt you if you hadn't started it." _

_Sabertooth was still ashamed and he sounded like a little kid. He could picture himself saying to Rebecca 'well she started it.' Smooth. Everyone already figured him a horrible monstrous beast. All except Rebecca and his best friend Logan, he had just proven the whole world right and his best friend and wife wrong. _

_Alex's nose twitched. She didn't want to believe him, but her nose NEVER lies, he was telling the truth. She started to debate with herself, but years of following her instincts and she found out that her feet had made the decision for her. She followed him for a while not really paying attention to where they were going._

_She stopped her eyes burning from the sun that they aren't used to. "I can't." She choked out and started backing away. "Please, don't make me." The reality of what was happening that this was the realest it has ever gotten and the dark unknown hovered in front of her._

"_I know nothing else... Please I only know this. I only know pain, hatred, it's familiar I need something familiar. Please." Alex was horrified. She knew this was real somehow, deep down, but she was still terrified. _Get out of here idiot this is your chance of freedom! TAKE IT!_, but she couldn't, as much as she hated it here at least it was familiar, she knew the rules. Besides she had just opened up to what amounted to a complete stranger not only that, but revealing that the place had institutionalized her so well._

_Sabertooth's heart was breaking. _Poor kid._ "Alright," he said stepping out of the sun. "What do you want to take?" _

_Alex was once again shocked. But not for the first time to night she found her body moving on without her, particularly her mouth right now. "Froggie." She said stepping back. _

"_Who is that?" Sabertooth asked. He had this weird feeling that this wasn't a toy frog or even a real frog and something formed in the pit of his stomach. This one a good feeling, he felt relieved that she had at least one friend SHE felt she could fall back on._

_Alex almost collapsed in relief. _He's not saying that I can't take him! _"He's my... brother."_ _She said that because that's what she felt deep down. _

"_Your mom never said you have a brother." Sabertooth said in a harsh whisper. Not once had he considered that he had a chance at having a son as well. _

_Alex instantly looked as if she was caught between running and puking. She was defiantly pale beyond belief especially for a blue girl. "What ... what did you just say?" _

_He couldn't have possibility have talked about her mom. She knew that her father was unreachable during all of her mother's pregnancy and afterward. She didn't talk to anyone during her time with Alex, fearing something like what had happened would happen. It was inconceivable that her father had gotten a hold of her mother in time for her to tell him all about her before she died. _

"_I didn't know you have a brother." Sabertooth changed the sentence. _

"_That's not what you said, you said 'Your mom never said you have a brother.' I heard you correctly, but that's impossible mom was almost dead **before** I left. So you must be mistaking." Alex spoke never once changing expression and then she bolted. _

_She ran down the hallway, down two flights of stairs seemingly taking random doors all the while aware of the silent figure following her_. Stupid! Stupid! It was a trick! Stupid! I need to get to Froggie, at least to say goodbye.

_Her nose never had had the chance to work correctly before. The mutant had worn strong colon or smelled like death and blood, covering up their true smell. _The scientists must have come up with a smell that smells like the person is telling the truth. What's sacred anymore in science?

_Mortimer was in his cell. The collar around his neck that restricted his powers burned again as he accidentally touched it. "Damn, stupid sensitive collar." _

_Mortimer was stretched out on the 'bed' that was really a rag that kept most of the dirt from reaching his green skin. Almost as soon as he was drifting off he heard the softest of foot beats. _What the hell is wrong with the guards trying to surprise us with an early wake up call? _"I'm up!" Mortimer yelled as he heard the cell door un-electrify. _

"_Froggie?" Came a quiet frightened voice. _

"_Alex?" 'Froggie' shot up at that quiet voice. Hitting his head, but he caught the curses just in time. He never yelled or cursed in front of any of his 'family', she'd seen enough violence to last her, him, and about half the world a great deal of time, maybe lets see... a century or two, so he cut back on that as well. _

"_How in Scott's name did you get down here, shrimp?" He added the shrimp bit to try and makeup for yelling at her. He was just walking out of his prison, that had been powered down, when a more silent mutant walked in._

"_Who the heck are you?" Mortimer didn't like the way that Alex shifted closer to him as if looking for protection. Ever since the first month here he hadn't even seen her flinch, not even when they were cutting into her did she have the look of fear she now possessed. _

_The man didn't move or blink for a second and all time stood still, neither he nor Alex were breathing hard at all; even after the distance they had apparently ran. "I could ask you the same question now couldn't I?" _

_Alex was now standing behind him even though they both know that she is the better fighter especially with his collar on. He could feel her shaking and he was almost over come by rage. "Why are you following the shrimp?" He accidentally let his nickname for Alex slip. _

_Sabertooth couldn't believe the nerve of this guy, but as he watched Alex move behind this guy it dawned on him. "Are you 'Froggie'?" _

_The most comical expression crossed Froggie's face. He spun on Sabertooth's daughter and in his shock he forgot all about where they were and in a harsh whisper said. "Please tell me he didn't say what I think he said." Froggie glared at her. _

_She looked at him and smiled a carefree kind of smile and shrugged her shoulders. With anyone else Froggie would have continued, but when he saw he face light up with momentary joy his anger was forgotten. He turned to the man in front of him. "No one else is allowed to call me Froggie, but shrimp here, everyone else calls me Toad. So what's your name?" _

_Sabertooth stood there for a moment and watched as Alex looked at him from behind this Toad/Froggie guy. He was adding up the years when realized that when she said brother she meant VERY close friend almost like a brother. _

"_Do we have to take him?" He looked at Alex and added the whine in his voice because he knew it would lighten up the mistake he had made. _

"_Definitely, and I would like to know your name too." Alexandra replied, but the whine had done it's work and it held only a little of the normal bitterness. _

"_Take me where?" Came the reply from the teen. "I can't go anywhere." _

_Indicating towards the collar now. Sabertooth took a step toward Toad and instantly he took a step back. If it weren't for Alex's swift movements to get out of the way he would be sprawled on the floor. _

"_I don't even know your name! And I don't want to be driven mad with pain thank you very much. So no touching my collar, 'kay?" Toad took another step back for good measure. _

"_Well I'm Sabertooth, Alexandra's father and I'm just looking at the collar." Sabertooth retorted in a huff. He didn't notice the flinch Alex made at her old name, but Toad did. _

"_Alex's father, riiiight. Well I'm tired of all the Alex's fathers that come here." Toad purposely used Alex, Alexandra was the name her no good son of a bitch Uncle used and she had changed it the day she had found out about his betrayal. _

_Toad now looked at Alex and put his hand on Alex's shoulder. Sabertooth noticed that she didn't flinch away. "Do you believe him?" Toad looked at her as if she said that the sky was going to fall he would believe her. _

_Alex's defenses drooped and both of them where staring in to a pool of blood or molten fire. There was such fear and uncertainty there that they felt it go through them like a cold wind, the horror of what she's seen, of what she's lived through was there, and then it was gone replaced by a wall of defenses that wouldn't go away entirely, when down waiting for a slip up to reestablish there wall. "Yeah, I believe him."_

"_Do you trust him?" Toad said in a questioning tone._

_Alex looked at Sabertooth with another critical eye. "No, but he can help, I think."_

_Toad turned and looked at him with the same critical eye. Then with certain determined steps he walked up to him and tilted his neck toward him. _

_Sabertooth was taken back at the wealth of trust that Alexandra, _Alex, she is called Alex now, _inspired, he didn't try and kid himself, it wasn't out of respect or trust of him (he was as about as reassuring as a axe murderer and had been told so on several occasions) that this kid walked up to him. Even as Toad stood there and offered his neck to him he trembled, awaiting the pain of the collar. _

_Sabertooth looked at the kid with a critical eye. He was once again taken back at what he saw, not only was the collar impressive, but the kid who wore it was young and probably not even 15. "Well, this may hurt a little. But I can get it off." Toad tensed, but didn't turn away. He grabbed the collar._

_They slammed their eyes shut at the blinding pain that vibrated through both of them made them weak in the knees, but fortunately seconds later it ended. They both feel to the ground weak from the overload of pain._

"_Ouch." Was all that Toad said. _

"_Big ouch." Sabertooth replied in the same groaning tone. _

"_Mega ouch, from the looks of things." Came a disembodied voice. _

_Sabertooth and Toad tried to open their eyes, but it was no use, the light being too much. Sabertooth cursed his healing abilities for not allowing him to pass out. "Come on let's go. Wimps." The disembodied voice came again. "Up and adam sleepy heads. I go throw more every 'session' then you did right now." _

_To further prove a point she moved in front of them. "Take what you're feeling, multiply it by a hundred take it to the ends of eternity and you will only glimpse the pain I feel." She didn't mean to make it sound like a snarl but it did._

"_I'm up. I'm up." Toad said repeating the words he had said earlier, but with a calm voice and no venom in his tone. _

_Sabertooth tenderly opened his eyes, letting them get used to the glow of light. He was pleasantly surprised to find that they didn't hurt as bad as the last time, and that Alex was crouched closer to him then before. It was only slightly irritating that she stayed out of his reach. Probably just in case. _

_Toad opened his eyes and Alex rushed over to his side helping him sit up. She surprised both of them by asking, "Why?" _

"_Why what?" Toad answered because Alex was facing him when she asked. _

"_Why did you do that?"_

"_Well, you did say that you wanted me to come right." Came a slightly frightened question._

"_Yes." Alex said nodding her head like the little kid she was._

"_Well you also said you believe this Sabertooth guy would help right?"_

"_Yeah. But I know how much you hate being touched at all. Why would you do that?"_

_Toad didn't answer just stared at her. _

_Finally Sabertooth answered the hopeless face that turned to him. "For you." _

_Alex was even more confused than before. Sabertooth saved her some confusion and stood up. "Now lets go." He abruptly turned and walked out of the cell, not turning to see if they followed. _

_Alex helped Toad up as best she could in her almost four-foot tall state. They followed Sabertooth quietly snickering. _

_Finally Sabertooth realized why they where snickering, he was completely lost. He was saved the embarrassment of asking for help as Alex stepped ahead and took the lead. Leaving Toad and Sabertooth together. (Big mistake!) _

_As Alex turned a corner Toad stepped in front of Sabertooth blocking his way. _

_Toad looked up at Sabertooth with a serous expression on his face. "Why are you here? And don't give me that crock about you loved her and were so worried." _

_Sabertooth growled. "Look buddy I'm just fulfilling a promise, I'm stuck with her. I promised Rebecca that I would find Alexandr... Alex and keep her safe so that's exactly what I plan to do." _

"_Well she doesn't need some person that doesn't even want to be around her. That sees her as a deal and nothing else. She needs someone that will love her. Can you do that?" With that the outburst was over and Toad moved down the hall Alex walked down, speeding up to catch up so she wouldn't notice the gap._

_Sabertooth followed Toad thinking on what he had said. _

**Now**

11-28-2004

Sabertooth's flashback ended as he rushed out of his car. He heard the gasps of fear and disgust as he ran across the parking lot and he could careless if they never let him into the town again.

At the moment all that mattered is getting to Alex. He didn't even make it in the mall as Alex came racing out her face a mask of terror.

"Dad!I...Ididn'tmeanto,butIhadtoshewouldhavedied,butthenwhooshandbangI'msosorrydad!" ("Dad! I... I didn't mean to, but I had to she would have died, but then whoosh and bang I'm so sorry dad!") Alex's mouth was going a mile a minute. Sabertooth thought that that had to be a separate mutation or something, no one should be able to talk that fast.

"Slow down and tell me what happened." Sabertooth said putting his hands on the bouncing teen. He realized that her transmitter wasn't working and she was once again blue.

"Can't we have to run... like NOW!" Alex said as her eyes got big. Sabertooth spun around and saw to his dismay that the once startled people from the parking lot, wherenow a mob chanting, "Kill all muties."

Sabertooth was frightened, for not the first time in his life, as he recognized that some of the mob where military officials. He wasn't scared for himself. No, he was terrified for Alex.

"Run." The protective father yelled as he pushed his daughter towards the woods. He covered her back's running flight by running behind her in case the military types decided to fire.

They made it to the woods before the military opened fire spraying the trees with gunfire. Sabertooth pushed Alex to the ground, but not soon enough. Three bullets made it past him into the young sixteen year old's back embedding them selves till they hit metal or passed through. Sabertooth cried out for her even though he had twenty plus bullets in his arms, legs, and back.

Alex got up, blood covering her shirt and pants and dirt all along her front. Both bodies where healing even as they ran, slowing them down and making them sleepy and hungry.

Even as they ran for there lives as Alex's stomach growled Alex let out a small laugh. She looked over her shoulder and asked her dad, "So what's for lunch?" Sabertooth had to laugh at that. Later on he would look back and admired her smile and how even after allthat she went through in those three years had not left her without a sense of humor.

Alex was terrified, covered in blood, and tiring, but she still tried to make light of the situation. That's when they heard the cars. Behind the running mob where cars, both groups where armed, as they made apparent by once again opening fire. This time neither had the luxury to avoid most of the bullets by ducking. They ran with bullets embedding themselves or just passing through their bodies.

Alex's abbie metal came in handy, later they won't have to dig the bullets out of her back, but she winced when she realized that she would have to remove the bullets in bedded in her father later by cutting open the skin to the bullet.

Alex and Sabertooth where now very lost in the woods. They had just put enough distance between them and the mob when Sabertooth pulled his daughter over behind a tree.

"I want you to stay here." Sabertooth was saying, but her adrenalin-fogged brain didn't register immediately.

"Stay here and make sure that you're out of site. Can you shape-shift?" Alex shook her head, because her wounds were to numerous. "Alright lay down and I'll cover you with leaves so that they won't see you. I'm going to leave... "

This finally shook a startled response from the now half buried teen. But her dad would not be interrupted and he plowed right on, "and leave a false trail. I promise will come back, and you can tell me what happened, got it good."

With that he threw the last patch of leaves on her face and took off. Not knowing that this would be last time that they would see each other for a while.

Sabertooth swerved to make it seem as if more then one person were running as well to avoid the bullets._ I promise I won't let them near you. _

Sabertooth ran for hours trying losing them. As finally the last of the mob seemed to turn for a long walk home so did Sabertooth. But suddenly he realized that if he turned back now he will catch up with the mob and it will start all over. So with that in mind his body showed him how tired it was by just shutting off. Sabertooth fell to the ground unconscious.

The mob was bloodthirsty. Cries of "What if there are more?" and "What if one of us is a mutie?" Making the crowd even more suspicious.

"It's so heavy!" Came a sudden yelp from around the tree in the path. The mob turned as one to see eight men struggling with a tall well-muscled blond man.

The man was close enough to the flashlights that it looked enough like the mutie they where searching for, fortunately it was unconscious.

They had long ago given up with the shoot 'em approach because the muties obvisally could heal. There were murmurs as the crowed discussed this fact and how to remedy it

"Well let's see if you'll heal from this!" One of the braver mob member said as they lobed the man's head off with an axe he was carrying. Blood splashed the people in front, but no one cared.

Figuring that their work was done they left. Leaving the body with the head two feet away to prevent any rehealing; just in case.

As they walked away they passed the healing induced sleeping teen buried in the leaves. No one noticed the eyes of other muties watching him or her.

The Professor had spotted another mutant power. So Logan/Wolverine, Jean, Jubilee, Ororo/Storm, John/Pyro, Scott/Cyclops, Bobbie/Iceman, and Rogue gathered in this little town looking for it. It was a little past sunset before Wolverine picked up a familiar scent. "Sabertooth." He said in a growl that only Rogue, who was right behind him, heard.

"Wolverine smelt the Brotherhood!" Rogue yelled over her shoulder as she took off after her father figure.

The gang senior and junior members followed the Wolverine to what looked like a mini mall. "Are we going shopping? Way cool." Came a happy voice that can only belong to Jubilee.

"No." Came the collective reply from just about everyone. Wolverine stopped as he saw a blue pickup truck; he slowly approached it, smelling around careful to make sure there was no waiting ambush.

"He was here, at one point. I would say maybe nine hours or so." With a final sniff to confirm his answer he discovered another smell, a slightly different one. "Hey, he might have found the kid first. So be on the look out."

Wolverine started to sniff around, following a faint trail to the woods, he found blood and not all Sabertooth's, he letting the others know gruffly, he continued. Much surer as he followed the stronger scent of blood.

That's when they heard voices. The speech broken up so they moved up a little. The words, "... lets ... see... I... 'll heal from this!" The words garbled, but got clearer as they walked closer.

Wolverine and Cyclops (the two in the front) had the 'privilege' of seeing a blond man get his head lobbed off. They quickly grabbed the junior members so as to keep them from seeing. The gang started to back up as the not so angry mob started to head their way.

Ducking behind a couple of trees to hide from view. They held their breath as the mob passed. Once the coast was clear they stood back on the path.

"What did you see?" An anxious question erupted from the mouth of Pyro.

Jean looked at her husband anxiously; Scott showed Jean a picture/movie of what happened. Jean not thinking about it had already opened the link so that everyone could see. Once she saw what happened she instantly regretted the links.

The juniors gasped and then ran off in separate directions to be sick. Pyro unknowingly choose near the tree that Alex was hiding under.

As he went to head towards the gang that was reforming he stepped on something that moved under his feet. As he fell on his back he let out a startled cry.

"Uff." Pyro groaned, as he fell on to a batch off holly leaves and snow.

Pyro's interest was quipped and he started to dig into the lit cover of now and deep leaves, soon a body was revealed. To his horror it was covered in blood, he realized the noise that he heard was her air escaping.

He leaned forward so that he could see better in the star light._ Wait a minute, my mutation, duh. All I need to do is get the lighter and make a ball. _Pyro quickly did just that.

He then saw that not only was the body that of a teen girl about his age, but that she wasn't hurt at all, and that she had blue skin, and blue and red hair. Checking her pulse, it was strong against his hand.

Something happened when he touched her; a strong urge to protect her and not let anyone else hurt her. Also a sense of curiosity, a twinge of fear and a great lonely void surged threw his body; and those feelings were defiantly not his.

Deciding that this was the mutant they were looking for he picked her up, mindful to turn his fire ball to a kind of necklace so that he could see the ground and hold the girl; all the while not scorching his clothes or hair, and walked to the group that was waiting for him to get back.

"Hey Pyro you okay?" Pyro looked up to see that his best friend Iceman was looking his way.

"Yeah, uh Mrs. Gray, uh I tripped over her when I was heading back." Now every one could see the bundle in his arms. Illuminated by his fire necklace the group saw a girl that looked very paleish blue and she was fast asleep.

Wolverine sniffed and snorted, and quietly retorted so as not to wake the kid up. "Well she reeks of Sabertooth, probably the same kid I smelt at the car."

Scott saw that the poor Pyro was getting a little tried carrying some one that is probably only 50 or so pounds lighter then him. "Do you need some help with her?" As Scott started to move forward Pyro's necklace flared almost scorching Scott's arms.

"Whoa. Pyro what is the matter?" Scott jumped backward to avoid the flame.

"Sorry I didn't do that Cyclops. She doesn't want anyone to touch her, I was a little overwhelmed." Pyro explained, the curious looks he was getting turned troubled at the ending statement. "What?"

"She is dead to the world, passed out. How can she tell you these things?" Jean said not even needing to use her medical expertise in this instance to judge the girls current state.

"By all the blood on her I would think she is dangerous. So lets get her to the med-lab and strap her down. At least until the Professor makes sure she isn't to dangerous." Pyro's necklace that had finally settled down now lashed out.

"Pyro, man, turn it off!" Iceman was trying to protect the group and was losing fast. Pyro did what Iceman said and poof no more flame. "All you alright man?"

"I really don't know, Iceman. All that fear at once, it was horrible. You needed to have felt it to know what I'm talking about." Pyro then shifted Alex closer as though to protect her from the fear. "Lets get out of here."

The group nodded their heads and started to head towards the Blackbird that hid in the darkness.

Logan couldn't quite place the girl that had shown up in Pyro's arms, but he knew that she was familiar. The memory kept dancing just behind his eyes, but he couldn't grasp it.

Alex could feel the boy that held her, Pyro, carrying her up something, a ramp maybe? That's what it is, a ramp... She then heard a man, Cyclops, say to set her in the back. Terrified by the fact that she was unable to move with the dream sand firmly holding her down, just like all of the other times, she just chanted in her head that her father would find her again just to keep from throwing her self against her invisible bonds.

She was confused as to why she was able to connect to this Pyro. She also could have sworn that she heard Logan's voice and the words med-lab, but in her dream like state she couldn't hear very well.

Pyro felt the girl's anxiety with being left alone, plus it was cold in the back so ignoring Scott he sat on the sofa with the teen in his lap as though she was sleeping; he put her head on his shoulder so that she was more comfortable.

Dropping the nicknames since technically they weren't on the mission Bobby came and took a seat next to John and the girl, whispering so that the adults couldn't hear. "Yo, John are you alright I mean that was some freaky stuff back there."

Marie and Jubilee sat on the other side of John getting into the conversation.

"Do you feel that?" John whispered suddenly as a wave of uneasiness hit him.

"Feel what?" All three asked still in a whisper.

"Here put your hand on her arm." All of the teens shoot looks across his bent head that said, is-he-for-real? What did he mean? Hesitantly putting their hands on the teen's blue arm they waited.

Bobby, Rogue and Jubilee jerked back instantly with a shout at the wave of fear and uneasiness hit them full force. Ororo stood up and walked over to see what was the matter.

"Nothing." Said all of the teens, just a little to quickly for the adult, but she let it slide for now.

"Well just make sure 'nothing' doesn't happen again." Ororo said as she went back to her seat.

"What was that?" Bobby inquired rubbing his arms to lower the hairs and to try and get the goose bumps down.

"That's what I've been putting up with every time ya'll do something that she deems as scary." The retort that they got wasn't at all mean spirited by still slightly irritated.

Bobby and the girls watched over the girl with John all the way back to the school. The rest of the trip went by uneventfully, most of the team hoped that their day was done and they could maybe get to sleep. Well that hope was shot.

Cliffy! Not telling you any more today, well not in this chapter. )

_R&R please, no flamers or I will feed them to my pet dragon! O-o_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Thank you for reviewing my fic. I love you. I love you even more for coming back!

Disclaimer: Don't own X-Men But Alex, the Dragons and plot are mine, along with a few other things. On with the fic.

Earlier:

"What was that?" Bobby inquired rubbing his arms to lower the hairs and to try and get the goose bumps down.

"That's what I've been putting up with every time ya'll do something that she deems as scary." The retort that they got wasn't at all mean spirited by still slightly irritated.

Bobby and the girls watched over the girl with John all the way back to the school. The rest of the trip went by uneventfully, most of the team hoped that their day was done and they could maybe get to sleep. Well that hope was shot.

Now:

Alex felt the others, Bobby? Jubilee? and Rogue, put their hands on her arms. She was terrified of them; they seemed to have had the same reaction as, Pyro? or is it John, to her skin.

Filing their reaction away, Thinker cocked his head and told her that he needed to run some more tests. Mumbling over the notes he'd been taking he walked over to a coner in the place she kept them and wrote furiously.

Sniffing slightly she wondered what happened to Iceman and what in the world was going on. She just laid there and contemplated all of the things she could do to get away, and how best to get a message to her family. Wondering what caused this connection between John and her she decided that maybe he was alright. Especially considering all of her personalities seemed to be okay with him.

Deciding that Pyro/John seemed to be a person she was able to trust, but she had no idea why and it terrified her, since her mind had apparently decided it without her consent.

Dad, Aunt Mystique, and Granddad always told her and her siblings, "Don't trust others, especially strangers, and never let people in your head." The last one she had apparently disregarded entirely, since she was in what appeared to be John's head and he could feel her feelings, so he must be in hers.

_We really need to talk about things before we decide that we are going to do it._ She snorted to her other personalities.

_But if we did that we would never make any new friends._ Replied Innocent, the inner child she still retained.

_Yes, but at least we wouldn't get into half as many scrapes_. Replied Thinker, as he looked up from his corner. _In fact, statistically, we wouldn't. . . _

Ignoring Thinker, Wolverine spoke up. _Well, I don't think it's a good idea, but when does anyone ever listen to me?_

_Well, that makes it official, we can trust him._ Soldier snorted, grabbing Wolverine and tossing him into a deep pit, that existed in th middle of the area that she held for them. _You were not given permission to get out of the hole, private! How dare you undermine the authorities above you! When you hit bottom I want you to do push ups till I tell you to stop. Do you understand me?_

Acknowledging the fact that she wasn't supposed to allow people into her head, she tried to get him out, but he seemed unaware of the fact he had planted himself firmly and he didn't seem to want to go anywhere.

_Can I have some help?_ She snorted to her other personalities.

_No_. Came the reply from all listening personalities.

Alex still tried but she couldn't root him out, his form was blurry, and would solidify once she saw him. Snorting to herself she grumbled and began to clean out some cobwebs in a corner of her brain for him.

She was careful to stay on the marked roads because she had gotten lost before, passing the room with memories, she decided on sticking him in the Ancient Serden language room. "Who needs to know the language of people that aren't even remembered anyhow?" She asked herself.

Scott looked back at the teens, they seemed to be clustered around the girl. "We'll be home in two or three minutes, seat belts."

Scott didn't know why, but this new kid reminded him of Logan, which he considered bad. He had watched as Bobby, Rogue, and John talked quietly, which he also deemed bad. Bobby looked up, but didn't move to get in his seal belt. The said Logan had put his seat belt on the second Scott said to, do to his love of Scott's landing technique.

Logan was pondering this new mutant, he remembered her some now; visions of him and her playing with a beautiful woman in the background,_ his wife? And the girl was his daughter his daughter,_ danced behind his eyes. He decided the beautiful woman wasn't his wife. . . it didn't feel right.

Him running, throwing a ball towards a two-year-old girl, she caught it by turning in to a dog,popped into his head to fade to a new memory. Suddenly he was waking up to a baby crying, turning over getting off,_ was that a sofa, _and walking down the apartment's hallway to stop at the door of the babies room. He walked in and there was the little bundle of noise, his whole world,_ another man's baby! _

Logan started with this revelation. _DAMN! I lost it_, but Logan knew that at one point of time he had known and loved this little girl. But why, when, where? Why can't he remember! Shards of pain rippled through him as he tried to grasp the meaning.

Pyro held the girl closer to him then before to prepare for the rough landing he knew was coming. _What was her name? Why did she relax when he held her closer and freak when the others walked near?_

John looked at the girl and silently asked, _who are you?_

He was startled as a name popped into his head, so startled was he that the name popped out before he could censor it. "Alex?"

Fortunately, only one person heard him, unfortunately it was Logan, and he turned to stare at John.

Logan stared at him and looked as though he was about to ask a question, but was jerked forward as the plane finally touched down, catching the words in his throat. John was thankful for the landing that stopped Logan from saying anything.

Gathering, Alex, and making a beeline for the door was all that he had in mind, that and a good nights sleep. Unfortunately that was not what was going to happen. Logan stood right before him as he got up. "John we nee . . ." The wave of pure fear, betrayal, hatred, and grief hit him hard enough that he shouted and fell back, interrupting Logan once again. Fire popped our of nowhere, scorching Logan and the plane around him.

Alex was aware of a question in her head, a soft one barely auditable, but there, _"Who are you?"_ She felt the irresistible urge to say Alex out loud, but she couldn't so she sent her name to John by thinking really hard about him knowing that her name was Alex.

She was still surprised that she had even tried to tell a complete stranger her name when he said it out loud! She started to wakeup even more as something jerked the plane, not her though do to the ever-protective John, but she was still deep under the spell of sleep.

"John we nee . . ." A voice so familiar and close that she screamed in her head, throwing her self backwards, useless to her sleeping form, knowing that her outside body won't listen to her.

Fortunately and just a little strangely John fell backwards_. John? Help! Keep him away please! Don't let him near! Call my dad! Do something! _She didn't care that what she was doing went against her survival instincts, that she couldn't tell a complete stranger her weakness, she had to get away from Logan.

"_John? Help! Keep him away please! Don't let him near! Call my dad! Do something!" _It was in John's head, the yelling and the fear, he stared up at Logan's burnt flesh in horror and watched as he began to heal and swear.

John was grateful that Logan was alive but the since that Logan was a threat was paramount. So he followed his instincts, he bolted; carrying Alex along with him her fear giving him the strength to carry her at an alarming rate.

Rushing past the members of the team who seemed to think he had lost it, he tried to continue forward. But it became apparent at least to his team members that something was 'wrong' and he needed. . . 'help'. Getting over their shock, they did their best to stop him from getting out.

They trailed after him, blocking his means of escape. He started to back up, looking for away out of this mess. The action proved futile, because they now surrounded him on every side; the voice was in his head still frantic, but trying to remain calm. The thought that this was insane crossed his mind more then once.

"_Don't let them get to close . . . and watch out on the back-left someone is sneaking up." _John ducked in time to be able to keep the person from tackling him and watched as Bobby sailed past him feeling the betrayal hit him that HE had turned against him. John shock it off and switched into battle mode, he wasn't a strong-willed teen anymore, he was a X-men trapped behind enemy lines and Alex was the leader.

"_I'm sorry about Bobby, he seemed like a good guy . . ." _The pause was uncomfortable and he felt her regret was real, but apparently even in the state she was in she was still thinking because the next thing she said was a plan. _"Can you get your back to a wall?" _The question came with a hint more calmness than statements before.

_Yes. _He thought hoping that she could hear him

"_Good, do that then set me so that my back is to the wall, I need to sit up. Then do what it is that you can do while I try to wake up. But be careful." _The last part was in more of a whisper, like a passing thought that was accidentally dragged into their conversation.

John did what he was told and propped her against the wall while pulling out his lighter and getting a flame ball worked up into his hand. The others stood back keeping an eye on him.

"John, are you okay? You know that you don't want to do this, you know you want to put that ball down and step away from the girl." Jean said in a disturbingly nice croon, Jean was nice and trust worthy, but he can't let his guard down, they'd use that against him and take Alex away from him. He remembered long forgotten lessons, lessons from the street he thought he would never have to use again.

"She's controlling you, you can fight it, just calm down and push her out. We'll stick her in the med lab before something bad happens and someone else gets hurt."

John couldn't believe this; they thought that Alex was a threat? She was terrified of them; he felt it even though they weren't touching. He felt her brace herself for him to hand her over to them, cursing herself for trusting him.

"No."

With that little word he felt a head rush of amazement, happiness, and friendship rush from the girl behind him. "She's terrified, she's helpless, and you think that she is a danger? How could you?"

"Then were did all that blood come from? I don't see a mark on her." Jean said in a reasoning tone.

John looked at Alex, but only for a second do to his lack of trust in the other team members now, thinking that they might try to sneak up on him. He noticed now that his cloths where splotchy with dried blood and so was she, only she was more drenched in blood the splotched with it. He sent a question to her, _why do you have all that blood on you?_ It was that simple, he would believe her no matter what she said.

"_It's mine. . . and my fathers." _The reply was cautious almost as if she didn't want to mention her father.

He looked dead into Jean's eyes and said, "It's her's and her father's."

"Is she speaking to you John? Is she telepathic?" Jean didn't wait for a reply before she dove right in to his brain. John didn't know what to do, she will find out everything about Alex he knew and he couldn't stop it.

That is until he heard a roar of outrage in his head, it was Alex, and she was PISSED!

Alex felt someone enter John's head and rage over took her. How dare They enter HER friend's head without permission! She didn't question, the fact that he had become her friend so soon, she accepted it as an animal would. Things happen you can't change, go with it, see life till the end. In your last moments you don't want your life to flash before you're eyes and think, well that was boring.

She found Bad Doctor quickly and jumped at her, attacking her, doing to Bad Doctor's mind what she wished she could do to her body. (Alex knows Jean is a doctor because it's in John's head that she is. Also when in the mind of someone it is like walking in a field of doors, labeled ones that are remembered and learned, and blank ones space for new knowledge. You walk around in them as a person, though not with your usual deformities or handicaps.)

A monstrous wolf sliced Jean's side with one of her claws (Alex is in wolf form because she is most comfortable in that shape) as Jean spun to meet her. Jean tried in vain to fight this monstrous thing, but succeeded in only stalling her by throwing her back. "Get out of MY head!" The thing roared in a voice that resounded off the walls of nothingness.

"This is John's head you get out!" Jean snapped back as tried to catch her breath.

"I was invited not you." The monster Alex had become looked at Bad Doctor with hatred in her eyes.

"Now get out." Alex said in a calm voice knowing that this would scare Bad Doctor even more than roaring. That's when a strange man popped in. Alex was startled, she ducked away and flinched as this new man raised his hand to call for silence, expecting a blow.

_Professor! _John did his best to send the message to the teacher that he thought he could trust to understand, though who knew now a days who you could trust.

He was terrified that something bad could happen to Alex, but if he had been paying attention to Jean he would have seen the cuts and scrapes forming on her body that the others were worried about. But little did he know that the others had already called for the Professor's help when Jean first started being "damaged". Now all he could do was sit there and watch over Alex's unmoving body.

"What are you doing here?" The wolf asked in a suspicious manner. Charles had only heard one side of the story and though it was uncommon for him to judge people without hearing their side of it he had to in this case. He grew in size and began to manipulate the things around him doing his best to force this intruder out. The beast before him cried out in anger, as she began to be attacked by invisible men on every side, but she wasn't leaving.

Cut's soon formed on her body, but she ignored them, trying to attack the things that she couldn't see. That's when she surprised them as she was beginning to be driven back she screamed John's name. Charles then watched as she began to manipulate the things around her with a beginner's clumsiness.

Alex a deep feeling towards The Man (as she deemed Charles), a feeling that only described him as treacherous a feeling will probably never go away. She backed away as he grew in size, but was determined not to let them mess with John's head, the one thing she could protect for him. She called out his name for help and he gave it. She tried to mimic The Man's movements, while keeping an eye on Bad Doctor; and was relived as she too began to grow in size.

She looked at The Man from across her muzzle and repeated calmly, "I'm sorry, but perhaps you didn't hear me I said GET OUT!"

The Man looked determined to kick her out as suddenly he was in front of her trying to get into HER head! She was doing her best, but she knew that if she didn't return to her body this man was going to get into her head and find where to get her family. _No stop thinking like that! You will not let That Place ever get a hold of them, but what about John? _As she began to slowly retreat into her own mind she sent a quiet message to John, one only he could hear. _"I'm sorry, but I can't stand this much more I need to get back, okay?" _

"_Yes, just be careful." _The comfortable voice of John said to her. _"Wait, are you going to be completely gone?" _He sounded a bit afraid and worried.

"_I don't know, this has never happened before."_ She admitted to him, but it was too late to go back. _"I'm sorry."_

Before Alex left completely she looked at Bad Doctor and smiled, a predatory show of teeth. "I'm not done with you yet. I'll get you." Alex promised as she slipped back into her head, but was comforted to find that she could still "feel" John beside her.

John felt the Professor enter his head; with Jean and Alex in there as well he was beginning to feel as if he was having a meeting. He heard Alex's yell as her body started to bruise, but she had been telling the truth about her healing as they healed along with what ever scratches that emerged. When he heard Alex's call for help he was confused, Professor was suppose to help her not push her out. They spook briefly and she left. Right after the conversation was finished and she had left, Jean and the Professor came out of his head.

"John, are you alright?" Jean's hesitant voice came from behind him.

"Are you back dude?" That was Bobby, he could tell his best friends voice from a thousand others.

John spun on them in a fury, but kept his face expressionless. "I'm I alright? I'm I back? I never left. Which you would know if you actually asked before attacking." He was careful keeping all the feeling out of his voice, and was rewarded by the approval from the girl beside him.

Jean looked shocked, then a different look passed over her face so quickly he wasn't certain he saw it. A wave of fear hit him from behind and shoved him forward. He tried to pick himself up, but realized his mistake, Logan had sneaked up behind him and that was the reason behind the fear and the blow from behind.

Before he could say anything Logan had his hands behind his back and was tying them up. "NO!" John started to struggle, but it was to late and he was secured.

"Scott can you get me a sedative we will need that to keep her under because it looks like she is waking up." Jean had wasted no time in moving around him to Alex.

He watched as the needle punctured her blue skin, his heart sank as she whispered the words through a hoarse throat. "No. . . "

"NO!" He echoed. He was struggling as he felt her fear rise along with her sense of guilt. "Please don't do this." John had turned to his friends. "Please." It didn't matter to him that he was begging his friends, it didn't matter that the rope was cutting into his flesh, that he was on the floor, betrayed by the same friends he was asking for help, all that mattered was making them leave Alex alone.

Bobby looked at him and stepped forward though still uncertain. "Please Bobby, help me. You know she can't be evil or dangerous, hell you scared her and you couldn't hurt a fly, please." Bobby, accompanied by Jubilee and Rogue, walked forward and started to untie his cords.

But Scott, who had been watching what Jean was doing, saw the movement and yelled at them to get away. To their credit they didn't listen to him, but as Jean finished putting Alex under anesthesia she turned and stopped them by lifting them off the ground. "Now stop it, and go to your rooms," upon hearing them start to argue she added. "And you won't be coming on the next mission or the next for a while."

Alex felt them over power John and screamed silently. She couldn't have told him about Logan do to the fact that The Man was still trying to enter her head and she couldn't leave in time to warn him; as she felt "Uncle" Logan's betrayal over and over in her head she cursed him in every language she knew (which was quite a few).

She tried to think about how best to help him, she then was quickly distracted by the prick from her nightmares. "No!" The voice she heard whispered from her lips didn't sound like her's, but she knew that it was. _I was almost there! I was almost awake._ She felt guilty as she realized that John was tied up. She could feel the ropes cutting into his flesh as if it were her own. She felt his hopelessness; she felt his resolve as he called to his friends.

_John it's okay. . . I knew years ago that eventually I would have to go back, at least this way my family wasn't hurt. I also got to meet you, which counts for something in my book. If you see my dad tell him not to come after me. _Alex sent the message, popping into his head just long enough to say it then popping back out, hoping he would get it just as her memories swallowed her, thanks to the anesthetic.

_She was staring up at Uncle Logan. "Can I PLEASE go with you! Pleeeeeaaaasssseee! Please! Please! Please!" _

"_Alexandra, you can't go with me. I need you to watch after your mommy." _

She remembered that night, of course he didn't want her going with him. She needed to be here to get kidnapped.

She floated passed that particular bad memory on to her first night at That Place.

_She was curled up into a little ball on a military bed with a military blanket rapped around her. She cried and cried, not for herself, but for her mom. Alexandra had felt her mother's life flow away. "Mom, no. Oh God no." As she sobbed when she felt her mom disappear off her radar. She heard footsteps silently approach. "Hh-ell-llo." _

_Alex remembered the only time she ever stuttered in that place, the pure fear she felt at that time. Alex's heart leapt as she saw a man's face appear from around the corner._

"_It's okay," Toad quickly reassured her as she shrunk away, "I'm here to help you." _

"_Stay away." Alexandra cried out. _

"_I'll stay right here." Toad stopped just in side the door and sat down. The guards posted out side Alexandra's cell shot him a brief look, but they didn't move to stop him after shutting him inside._

_Alexandra looked sideways at him. He sat there for hours, he didn't move just watched her. _

_Alexandra wouldn't cry in front of him. _He's one of them_. A voice in her head said in a snide voice. **But**_** I'm so lonely. . . **_That was Alexandra's child voice. Some times she felt her angry side fight with her inner child. _

_The man finally spoke. "What's your name?" _

_Alexandra looked at him with a poker face on_. Never let them see your emotions. _That was Uncle Logan's voice._ Don't talk to strangers. _That was mom._ I'm SOOOO lonely, and he doesn't seem so bad. Yeah well neither did the men at the door. **I'm Lonely! **Strangers.

"_What's _**your**_ name?" Alexandra countered looking at the man across from her. _

_The man looked down, "Toad." The mumbled reply was almost lost to her even though she had heightened abilities that were being strained. The guards snored, they had fallen asleep during the boring hours that had passed._

_Alexandra looked at the man. He was greenish, his hair was shocking green, but filthy. "Toad?" Alexandra looked at him with surprise, most of her fear having been replaced by a wary curiosity. "Who gave you a name like that?" _

_The man across from her flinched, Alexandra noticed the signs of something that people don't want to talk about. To her surprise he opened his mouth to tell her. _

"_My name's Alexandra." Alexandra, cut in and the man shot her a look of gratitude. "Do you like that name?" Alexandra was randomly trying to add to a conversation as her cautiousness evaporated. _

_The man looked at her. "No. . . " _

_Alexandra looked over at him, she slowly got up her muscles screamed at her for a split second, her healy-thingy kicked in and she instantly was "healed" of muscle cramps. All the voices got together talking quietly. _Froggie. _The voices formed as one letting her know what they wanted. _

"_Froggie." Her voice emerged softly. "What do you think about that one?"_

"_Froggie . . ." Trying it out on his tongue. "It's okay . . ." His voice trailed off for a second. "Are you okay?" He seemed to genuinely care._

The memory slipped away. Alex waited hoping to get a better memory like the last one. Luck wasn't on her side as she slipped into the night that she was rescued.

_Alex was trying not to laugh, as her father seemed to be getting lost without noticeing. _

_He turned toward her and her brother and gave them a lost look. She stepped ahead and started forward. She felt them drop back, but was to busy thinking the best way out to slow down. _

_She froze, the others. She couldn't just leave them! _Stupid what if the knew that you had almost forgotten them!

_She felt Toad then her father catch up. She stopped. Her father! Would he let her take them along with her? He had to, she couldn't just leave them! Though she was one of the youngest of the twenty children total she was the leader of the band. Her mind being sharper than the others because of her 'gifts' she learned fast and she was a good leader._

_Toad almost ran into her prone form and he skidded to a halt. _

"_What is it?" Toad asked looking ahead seeing if there was any military personal further on._

_She looked at him then her father then back at him, for a moment a look of worry passed over their faces before she said, "the others." _

_Toad looked as if a train had fallen on him, "Oh my god we almost forgot them!" He looked horrified at the idea of leaving his family behind._

"_What others?" Sabertooth looked worried as he looked at them. Turning to the sheepish looking Alex. "What others?" _

_Alex looked down for a moment when she looked up her hooker face was up, the one that showed no emotion, but resolve. "I won't leave them." The statement was made in an ice voice._

"_I never said you had to. But what others?" Sabertooth tried to be as appeasing as a giant cat man could be._

"_The other children." The poker face hadn't so much as shifted. "The other Dragons." She referred to the name they had given themselves, the name they recognized each other by._

"_The Dragons?" Sabertooth caught on after a moment. He gave out a long-suffering sigh. "How many?"_

_Unlike last time the mask didn't slip at him not immediately saying no. "Twenty, including me and Froggie." The words came out dead. Flat. Like the eyes that now stared at her father. _

"_Twenty?" The words came out as flat as hers. He was already thinking about where to stick them all and adding up the costs in his head. "Where are they?"_

_This time the mask fell away. She squealed in a like the little kid she was supposed to be and launched at him in glee. For Sabertooth that moment was worth all of the trouble he has and ever will be put threw. Or at least so he thought, he had yet to meet The Dragons. _

_Both Toad and her then started to trot down another hallway; Sabertooth trotting behind. They came to a door marked Zoo, Sabertooth gave a disgusted snort and knocked down the door. What he saw and heard would haunt him for the rest of his life . . ._

The memory slipped past, and Alex mentally sighed. The bad part was next and she didn't want to think about that right now.

The memory flowed past and she was grateful that none of the others sucked her in. She felt the drugs ware off as her quicksilver took over. Fortunately once she was injected with something it never worked again.

_John? Are you there? _She felt towards him, trying to see if he could reach her now. Getting no response, she pushed back her fear at being alone again and tried again and again.

John was in the danger room. He had gotten his hands out of the restraints and got his emergency lighter, the original the team had taken from him. He was thinking on what section he should melt away or if he even could when a voice appeared in his head. _"John are you there?"_

"Alex?" He was so startled that he asked out loud while looking around as if she was standing right behind him. Her laughter brushed the walls of his mind and he had a weird feeling that she hardly ever laughed before . . . Before what? He wasn't quite sure, but he knew it was bad.

_Alex? Where are you? Are you okay? _

"_I'm in a weird room . . ."_ He almost felt her sniff. _"It's a lab! Get me out! They've got me! They've got me!" _The terror and guilt drew him to his knees, he knew he was having an anxiety attack, but she wasn't letting up. The terror grew and he felt as if his stomach might jump out of his body. The crawly bugs wiggling for release clawed at his stomach reeking havoc on his newly acquired ball of fire.

_Calm down Alex please your going to kill me. _But it was no use the terror he felt was a living thing eating at his insides, crawling under his skin. The bugs were going to make him sick, but he wasn't worried about that, he was worried about what Alex was feeling.

Alex suddenly went calm, _"Deep breathes, deep breathes, in, out, in, out, your okay, you've done this before. It's essential to life, life is still preferable, life is good. Life is good. Life is good, life is good."_ She seemed to be thinking to herself, as if she was unaware he could he her.

_Are you okay now?_ John sent the message carefully, hoping that she wouldn't back track to terror.

"_I'm a little better now." _Alex sent back though he could almost sense her fear waiting just out of reach.

_Don't worry the X-team are the good guys, they are just complete idiots. You see we were sent to help you get a handle on your powers. We were sent to HELP you not HURT you. Then they were a little up tight after seeing that guy get decapitated. You being covered with blood didn't help matters. I believe it's yours, but they are, as I said, very up tight. _John said this as fast as possible trying to keep her calm. _What's going on now?_

"_I'm getting a headache because you're talking so fast. Other then that I'm in a lab," _she paused, the terror reaching for her, she pushed it down and continued with her analysis of the room, _"I think I might be on an examining table. There is one, wait two people here." _

John felt Alex's rage build as someone stuck another needle in her arm. He held his breathe as she fought those emotions down again.

"_I'm almost awake, I need maybe two or three more minutes. You say these people are you friends?"_ The ending question was almost mocking.

_Yes. _

"_Then why did they tie you up, attack your mind, and stick you in a holding place?" _The reply was louder almost as if she were closer. _"They sound like really loyal friends."_ The rage was there again. Building, raging, strengthening, getting almost out of control.

_Alex calm down. _He dove in her mind trying to reach her as she fled deeper and deeper, but Alex wasn't answering him, she was in a sea of rage. Red, as he reached to help her that is all he saw, the danger room around him was red; he was furious.

_These people had kidnapped him, attacked his friend, they were constantly attacking his brain, were running all types of experiments on him, and were generically pissing him off. How DARE Bad Doctor attack him, go into his friend's brain? How dare she experiment on him? They had John even defending them! They had his only friend in this place against him now. He could feel the threads that held his sanity together slip, they would pay!_

John jerked out of Alex's mind as fast as he was able. He had gone so deep he had almost become her! That was a new one. He had no physic powers, he had no connection to this girl so why was he able to enter her mind? What was he going to do to help her and his friends, without betraying either one of them? He could feel her slipping away, and she had murder on her mind.

Alex severed all contact with John. The animal she had created in That Place surfaced, the one that killed without a thought; the thing that didn't care about anything, but survival and pack. Bad Doctor retreated, maybe some primal instinct telling her that something was up.

She was off to get some more supplies from the other room. Alex waited, she could sense the other person move closer, she felt him just out of reach, the small protesting part of her ceased to exist as she sensed her uncle a few feet away from her.

Inside she went completely still, waiting, smelling, sensing. She sensed his attraction to Bad Doctor. If he wanted her then he could watch her die like she watched her mother slaughtered before her very eyes. He would feel what she felt and know the anguish she had felt.

Bad Doctor was coming, something in her hand clacked. Alex's muscles bunched, her claws extended even as launched forward. Grabbing Bad Doctor Alex's claws grazed her neck, piercing skin, blood rolled down, beckoning, telling her to kill, but Alex held back.

Bad Doctor was knocked against the examining table that moments ago held Alex. She was between the door and Alex, but also between intruders and Alex. Alex used the lessons in antinomy that her father insisted that she and her brothers and sisters learn.

Uncle Logan stared at her in shock. One eye on Uncle Logan she looked at the needles and wires prodding from her body in distaste.

Looking at Bad Doctor in her death grip. "Told you we weren't done."

Jean looked at the girl holding her life in her hands. The claws weren't fully extended, she looked at the aim and realized that when the claws were fully extended her death would not be swift, but would be inevitable and painful. "Think we could talk about this?"

The girl, Alex, she looked at her, while keeping an eye on Logan. "No, I don't think so." The remark was made with no emotion. She looked Jean in the eye for a split second. "Do you think you could have stuck me with any more needles?" No humor laced her voice. Nor crossed the ruby eyes of hers.

They weren't just red they were ruby, cold like the stone, hard, unfeeling, and beautiful.

Jean sent out a call to the Professor. Not surprisingly, he had already sent the X-men out to aid her in her peril.

Moments later Scott, Storm, and Hank burst into the room. A nick in her neck was added to the scratch as she felt the claw extend more. "No!" It was torn from her abused throat, claw going deeper.

Scott stopped, his hand resting on his visor. "Jean are you okay?" He seemed worried about the blood that was running down his fiancés neck.

Alex watched the expressions on all of these strangers' faces. Blue Man seemed worried about them all, which included Alex herself, this surprised her more then anything else. All of the others seemed to be worried about Bad Doctor.

Her red gaze fixed itself on All-American. "She's fine, but she will cease to be fine if you take another step forward." This comment was stated to Logan who was inching forward so carefully no one else noticed. They turned to him. "I would suggest that you step back, just to keep her safe, wouldn't want to slip up and get your mate killed, would you Logan?" She saw the instant fear in his eyes even as All-American sputtered.

Suddenly her wrists were killing her. _"Alex? What's going on? ALEX? ARE YOU THERE!" _

_You're yelling. I can hear you just fine. What's wrong with your wrists? _

"_Thank god! Where have you been and what's going on?"_

_What happened to your wrist? _Alex watched blood roll down her wrist, it refused to heal for a moment, but the quicksilver was determined. It still hurt which she found disconcerting.

"Are you okay?" This was said out loud. Alex turned to Blue Man.

"What do you care?" She bit it out between clenched teeth. Suddenly, along with John's voice her personality came back. What was she doing? Could she kill this woman just because her uncle liked her? _Yes._ It was her again, the voice of her street self.

_NO!_ Alex called,_ I left you behind! You're not me anymore, my uncle deserves to die, not the woman he is attracted to! _

_Don't you mean love?_ The Snide voice replied.

_He's not capable of love!_ Alex believed that, more then anything

_Well that is one thing we agree on. _

"Because, I took the Hippocratic Oath. You still fall under that oath." Blue Man shrugged carrying on the conversation even as Alex was arguing with her self.

"The Hippocratic Oath (Modern version)." Alex recited it from memory, careful not to make mistakes.

"I swear in the presence of the Almighty and before my family, my teachers and my peers that according to my ability and judgment I will keep this Oath and Stipulation.

"To reckon all who have taught me this art equally dear to me as my parents and in the same spirit and dedication to impart a knowledge of the art of medicine to others. I will continue with diligence to keep abreast of advances in medicine. **I will treat without exception all who seek my ministrations, so long as the treatment of others is not compromised thereby, and I will seek the counsel of particularly skilled physicians where indicated for the benefit of my patient.**

"I will follow that method of treatment which according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patient and abstain from whatever is harmful or mischievous. I will neither prescribe nor administer a lethal dose of medicine to any patient even if asked nor counsel any such thing nor perform the utmost respect for every human life from fertilization to natural death and reject abortion that deliberately takes a unique human life.

"With purity, holiness and beneficence I will pass my life and practice my art. Except for the prudent correction of an imminent danger, I will neither treat any patient nor carry out any research on any human being without the valid informed consent of the subject or the appropriate legal protector thereof, understanding that research must have as its purpose the furtherance of the health of that individual. Into whatever patient setting I enter, I will go for the benefit of the sick and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief or corruption and further from the seduction of any patient.

"Whatever in connection with my professional practice or not in connection with it I may see or hear in the lives of my patients which ought not be spoken abroad, I will not divulge, reckoning that all such should be kept secret.

"While I continue to keep this Oath inviolate may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of the art and science of medicine with the blessing of the Almighty and respected by my peers and society, but should I trespass and violate this Oath, may the reverse by my lot." Alex stopped to take a breath, she was glad that her father was such a bear with knowledge. 'If you can learn it, do!' He always said that, he also hated how everyone considered him ignorant. Big dumb blond that was only good for killing people and for his muscle.

After the breather she started in again, shocking even Blue Man. "The Hippocratic Oath (Original Version)

"I swear by Apollo the physician, AEsculapius, and Health, and All-heal, and all the gods and goddesses, that, according to my ability and judgment, I will keep this Oath and this stipulation.

"To reckon him who taught me this Art equally dear to me as my parents, to share my substance with him, and relieve his necessities if required; to look up his offspring in the same footing as my own brothers, and to teach them this art, if they shall wish to learn it, without fee or stipulation; and that by precept, lecture, and every other mode of instruction, I will impart a knowledge of the Art to my own sons, and those of my teachers, and to disciples bound by a stipulation and oath according the law of medicine, but to none others.

"I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give a woman a pessary to produce abortion.

"With purity and with holiness I will pass my life and practice my Art. I will not cut persons laboring under the stone, but will leave this to be done by men who are practitioners of this work. Into whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the benefit of the sick, and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption; and, further from the seduction of females or males, of freemen and slaves.

"Whatever, in connection with my professional practice or not, in connection with it, I see or hear, in the life of men, which ought not to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such should be kept secret.

"While I continue to keep this Oath unviolated, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of the art, respected by all men, in all times, but should I trespass and violate this Oath, may the reverse be my lot!

"This is the oath I prefer though." Alex stated as an after thought.

"_Another version, approved by the American Medical Association, is as follows: _

"I do solemnly swear, by whatever I hold most sacred: That I will be loyal to the Profession of Medicine and just and generous to its members. That I will lead my live and practice my art in uprightness and honor.

"That into whatsoever house I shall enter, it shall be for the good of the sick to the utmost of my power, my holding and keep myself far aloof from wrong, from corruption, from the tempting of others to vice.

"**That I will exercise my art solely for the cure of my patients, and will give no drug, perform no operation, for a criminal purpose, even if solicited, far less suggest it. **

"That whatsoever I shall see or hearof the lives of men or women which is not fitting to be spoken, I will keep inviolably secret.

"These things do I swear. Let each bow the head in sign of acquiescence. And now, if I will be true to this, my oath, may prosperity and good repute be ever irs; the opposite, if I shall prove myself forsworn." Alex let that seep in as she stared at the shocked and speechless strangers. Suddenly her claws stuck Jean again causing a squeak to emerge. "I thought I told I to stay back, Logan."

Logan once again was forced to take steps back. "So what are you going to do to Jean?" Alex's eyes flickered toward All-American as he spoke.

Alex looked at him, her expression blank. "Most probably kill her." She felt the laughter bubble up out of nowhere as John whispered, "_liar."_

_I am not!_ The retort was sent with a wealth of laughter behind it. _I'm just a huge fibber._

_Fibber, liar, same difference._

_Stop making me want to laugh, it's going to get me killed!_, but the laughter never once crossed her eyes or face.

All-American tensed, the color draining from his face at the prospect of Bad Doctor being killed. Alex filed that away for future reference, handing it to thinker who was as always taking notes on the lives around Alex.. "We don't want to hurt you, we just want to help." His voice cracked and he was obviously lying, right now all he wanted to do was kill her, she could smell it.

Alex once again shot a meaningful look at the needles and tubes prodding from her body. "I can see that."

Blue Man was the only one decent enough to look ashamed.

"I have no idea why we thought you may be a danger." All-American stated with a wealth of sarcasm.

"If I may point out, I had done nothing, but lay around, literally. So you're the aggressors and I'm just the aggressed."

_Good point._ The voice of John was way louder than before.

"We can work this out." White Hair had been dormant and now she stepped up. "We want you to trust us. We really want to help, really we do." White Hair sounded sincere, but the fury coming off All-American testified differently.

"You want me to trust you? When John trusted you, you walked all over him, you tied him up, locked him up, and betrayed that trust. Oh, I sooo trust you! Let me just hop up on the table and you can drug me some more!" Alex paused never once changing her deadpan tone. "Umm, no thanks I think I'll stay here."

"How do you know John is locked in the Danger room?" Bad Doctor said from in front of her, Alex looked at her.

"I'm not going to tell you." Suddenly she jerked backward releasing Bad Doctor from her death hold. The claws of her Uncle Logan sliced the air where her head had been.

_Stupid! Never look away from an opponent!_ Alex scolded her self as she crouched ready for another attack, she was thankful for her training as Logan pressed his advantage, following with a round kick hitting air once again. Alex was the one to press the advantage this time, she hit flesh and went to the metal covered bone with her own claws, she jumped back once more waiting for another opening.

"Stop! Logan!" It was Blue Man he appeared between the two of them just as Logan attacked once again. For no sane person reason Alex moved forward pushing him out of the way, claws sliced threw her torso just as John ran in the room. Blood sprayed the room coating Logan and All-American.

She growled, backing up, daring Logan to attack again.

John walked into a nightmare, blood gushed from Alex's middle. Logan and Scott where covered in it, Hank was on the floor dazed looking.

"HANK!" The others rushed to see if he was all right while Logan faced off with Alex.

"Alex! Fuck!" The world narrowed down to one person, fear gripped him, more intense then he had felt earlier, this time he knew it was all his. He rushed forward bypassing arms that darted out to stop him. Planting himself firmly between Alex and Logan, much in the way Hank had moments before; John faced Alex. "Holy shit." It came out no more than a whisper. "Shit, shit, shit, shit." Was no longer thinking he pressed his hand on the gash. "Why isn't it healing?"

Alex noticed she had been changed into a clean non-bloody outfit that now had more blood on them then the old ones. John's hands were digging into her wound as he held her organs in. She didn't know why, but her eyes refused to focus on the team. "No idea, probably because I need to eat something." She kept her voice devoid of emotion. Finally she was able to focus, she watched them all warily.

"Eat something. Anything in particular?" Blue Man was once again standing; it was he that asked the question.

Alex tried to push off the table she was now leaning against. Her legs almost refused to hold her. "Steak, rare. Actually just bring me the cow, I'll eat it raw." John caught the half-joke while the others just stared at her in horror. John laughed out loud as well as in her mind. "What are you laughing at, I'm serious." Alex never took her eyes away from Logan or All-American.

"Fibber." The remark was made softly, she barely heard it.

Alex couldn't help it the laughter bubbled up out of nowhere, and she was to weak from blood loss to stop it. She was once again forced to lean against the lab table, after the laughter subsided she took a deep breath. The shocked people around her just gaped.

"See now did that hurt?" Looking away from the team for the first time she realized that John was covered in new blood, having never changed from the old outfit it joined the rubbed off blood, the blood still poured from her body in a steady stream.

"Quite a bit actually." Pausing for a moment she thought. "I think my kidney is about to slide out, you might want to catch it before the rest of my organs follow."

Mumbling a few choice curse words he moved his hand to compensate for the slipping organs.

"Maybe we should focus on the task at hand. If I may?" Blue Man stepped forward and Alex growled.

"No you may not!" The growl accented each word and made the threat eminent.

Blue Man took a step back and Logan moved forward threatening. Alex stood straighter she almost took a step forward as well, but John reminded her that she was in no position to fight.

"You're in no position to fight, you have a gapping hole in your body." John's remark brought another smile though she didn't look down from Logan's eyes.

"It just levels the playing field a little more. I've fought with worse odds." Alex's eyes now flitted to the rest of the team, they turned thoughtful. Revealing for the first time emotion. "Though it would have been easier if I had a machine gun."

"Let's see if we have a machine gun in a school," White Hair added sarcastically, "we keep it next to the beer."

Alex didn't here the last part; her mind was stuck on school, school, school. "School? Like for norms?"

Blue Man looked hopeful suddenly. "Uh, Scott, Jean, Logan, Ororo why don't you go up stairs." The pleading look he gave the other members of the team wasn't lost on Alex.

Logan looked taken aback. "No way in h . . ." Before he could continue his objection Alex took center stage.

"Hell? Well you know a lot about hell don't you Logan. You should, you sent me there!" Ignoring the protest from John and hands were forced away from her open wound. "You really want to hang around Logan? You really want to stick around and talk about it?"

Logan looked shock and then angry, but Bad Doctor grabbed his left arm while All-American grabbed his right arm, being careful of his claws they dragged him out. White Hair looked at Blue Man then Alex and John.

"Be careful. We'll be right upstairs if you need us. Don't let your guard down or turn your back." She whispered it in to Blue Man's ear as she left, Alex heard it and she watched the reaction on his face.

"Alex, we need to get you fixed up." That was the disembodied voice of John.

"I would like to be of some service." Alex looked apprehensively at Blue Man as he spoke.

She seemed to think it over. Looking at John she sighed. Hopping up on the table behind her she gave John an annoyed look as he followed her up trying to keep his hands over the wound.

"My life is in your hands literally, John. If you trust him I will too." Alex looked at Blue Man. "Have at me!"

Blue Man hid a smile as he stepped up to her. Alex couldn't suppress the small growl deep in her throat. Blue Man looked at the wound, he pushed on her shoulders to make her lay down. Alex did, watching his hands the entire time. She felt more then saw John move away to clean up the mess.

Blue Man suddenly looked uncomfortable with something. Alex looked nervous. "Umm . . . We have a problem. I need to clean the wound."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Aanndd . . . Why is that a problem?"

"Because I will need to numb the area around the wound, which means using a . . . needle." Blue Man jerked back as Alex sprung away.

"No way in HELL!" Alex snarled, she didn't even allow John to come near her. Alex tried to calm her self down, but she kept remembering a needle piercing her skin . . . over and over. Being trapped in a body that no longer responded while scientists cluttered around and cut her again and again. She backed up further, she shook her head, mumbling no she backed up farther, her claws had retracted when Logan left, now they sprung back. "Get away from me." She hissed it at both Blue Man and at John.

She was retreating, they could see that. John looked at Hank. An idea struck. "How about we forget the needle, how about we just wrap it up and get you something to eat." John was digging at the bottom of the barrel, hoping she wouldn't leave him. "Alex, don't leave me." Silently, mind-to-mind, he added, _please?_

She looked at him, the red receding from her eyes. Sighing she looked down at her hands, the claws retracted one by one slowly. "'Kay. But no needles." She walked over slowly. Her gaze strayed toward John apologizing to him with her eyes and mind. _Sorry about that and thanks for bringing me back._

Alex stared into outer space as Blue Man wrapped up the wound, distancing her self from the pain. "We should stitch it up." He heard a warning growl emanate from her, but he continued his work.

"So this is a school?" Alex couldn't help herself as the question kept repeating its self over and over.

Blue Man nodded. "Don't the norms think it's weird to have a blue teacher?" Alex asked curiously.

John laughed out loud. "This is a school for mutants, no norms." She knew he felt her shock because no way it showed on her face and he burst out laughing.

"No norms? Really? My dad never mentioned there was a school for mutants like us." She allowed the disbelief to creep a little into her voice.

Blue Man's face looked thoughtful. "Was your dad with you on your trip to the woods?"

Alex considered telling him that it was none of his business, but he had been nice to her and her dad said to be courteous to people if they were courteous to you. "Yes he was."

"What happened to him?" Blue Man looked at her. Alex decided she liked this man, he was straight forward, educated, and spook to her as if he expected her to follow. He didn't seem to dance around an issue and he had yet to try to slice and dice her or needle her, she took this as a good sign.

"Don't know." She jumped off the table as he finished. She screamed in her mind, the pain almost made her pass out. She didn't let it show on her face or voice as she asked. "Can I see it?" The question was a cautious olive branch to peace.

"Allow me to be your guide." Blue Man bowed at the waist, purposely exposing his back and neck, trusting her.

"Me too!" John added feeling protective and left out.

"My, my, my such gentlemen." Alex leaned ever so slightly on John as they made there way to the elevator. She paused out side the elevator; she looked into the small space. "No stairs?"

"It's okay it only goes up from here." John made a joke as he stepped into the elevator after Blue Man. Alex had pulled back and laid an uneasy eye on the elevator.

"Controlling your powers is the same as controlling your fear. Never let it stop you, work with it till it listens to you, not the other way around." Her Granddad had told her that when she had confessed to being afraid of spiders. She was still afraid of spiders, but that didn't stop her from full filling a life's dream like this one now did. This one prevented her from going to school.

"I might go berserk and kill you." Alex told them as she stepped in and the doors closed. Alex leaned against the wall watching everything, everyone. Blue Man and John were smart enough to know when to stay back and act small and insignificant avoiding her eyes. She counted the seconds that seemed like an eternity.

As the doors opened she burst out, ignoring the scream from her middle that nearly blinded her with pain. She looked around even though her torso was eating at her screaming to sit, or better yet lie down.

"_Sit down, you're hurting!"_ The John in her head urged as he felt her pain.

_No._ Alex sent back. She started to walk down a corridor as Blue Man and John followed. John could hear her every silent scream, feel her pain, but she never let it show, no outward sign, not even any limp in her walk.

Alex could sense the others watching her, but she only looked around for a minute before she started sniffing out food. She knew her quicksilver needed fuel and she also knew that John was suffering with her. The latter urged her to find food faster then her own discomfort did.

She made her way to the kitchen, slowly being mindful of her wound so as to lessen the impact on John. Blue Man began to tell her about different rooms as they walked, Alex set her mind on record then focused on sorting out the smells and following the food.

She could smell children of all ages crisscrossing the hallways. She logged each individual smell away so she could find the owner and place the smell to the person and personality.

She found the Kitchen and looked around. She looked at Blue Man for permission before fixing her self the food she so needed. Her Father, Aunt and Granddad all had strict rules in manners and she used them as often as possible, as did her brothers and sisters.

Sitting down with enough food to feed a small elephant she began to eat after a quick pause, which she said a prayer inwardly. She felt the curiosity emanating from John and silently asked, _what?_

"_Where do you put it all?"_ John spoke mind to mind as well.

_I use it up constantly, talking, healing, everything, I was depleted before and I don't know when I will need my quicksilver again. Plus don't go telling me I'm thin, I way an extra twenty pounds not including the metal._ She sounded finished, but another reason popped unbidden in her mind. _I also don't know when I well get food again once I leave._ She shot him a look and was obviously looking for a reaction, _did he hear her?_ Alex looked at John. _No I don't think so, he isn't reacting like he did. _

She started packing away the food, her whole attention on getting as much down as possible without being a pig.

She almost to the bone in some leftover ribs she found, but she didn't slow.

John watched Alex devour the food and tried not to laugh. He watched her thoughtfully. After she was done John pushed at her making her sit back so he could look at the wound.

Pulling back the cloth he was amazed to see only a fading bruise through excess the blood. "Holy shit." He whispered awed at the practically unmarked skin. He suddenly felt her tense and slowly stand, the door behind him burst open to reveal . . .

Cliffy, who is it? Well I will need more reviews to up date some more.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Thank you, you three, you make me cry. . . I love reviews.

Now for what you want. On with the fic!

Earlier:

John watched Alex devour the food and tried not to laugh. He watched her thoughtfully. After she was done John pushed at her making her sit back so he could look at the wound.

Pulling back the cloth he was amazed to see only a fading bruise through excess the blood. "Holy shit." He whispered awed at the practically unmarked skin. He suddenly felt her tense and slowly stand, the door behind him burst open to reveal . . .

Now:

Alex jumped out of the way as a blur ran into the room. John was knocked back as a female figure latched herself to him. This figure was soon joined by a second.

Two males stood at the door. Alex was grateful that her father had trained her so well. She had reacted automatically and her claws were out, she was in a fighter's stance as well.

"Jumpy aren't you?" It was one of the males. Alex didn't relax from her stance as she tried to place the voice, she recognized him, Bobby, from the plane.

The second figure looked across from her to the two clinging figures. "Kitty, Jubilee you can let him go now."

The figures didn't relax their hold, but Alex now dismissed them as a threat. Keeping an eye on the men while still keeping an eye on them was becoming difficult and she shifted position moving slightly behind John so that she could watch them all at once, Blue Man included.

"John are you alright, man?" It was a feathered boy that asked him the question. He was the one that told the other girls to let go of John.

Alex was watching waiting. Trying to determine what to do.

"Warren could you get them off of me?" John's voice was strained. He had apparently not noticed that Alex was behind him and now trapped against the wall.

As Feather Boy moved forward so did Bobby. Alex remembered Bobby from the jet, but not Feather Boy and even so she didn't trust Bobby. Before they had taken ten steps in Alex growled, her claws glinting in the glow from the light.

Warren found it amusing that the girls had almost chocked the life outta John and was moving forward to help when a growl halted him in his tracks. Looking at the girl behind John he took several steps back. Holding his hands up in an age-old sign of peace.

The blue mutant stopped growling, but still watched him. At the growl Jubilee and Kitty let go of John and jumped back. John sucked in air and looked at him. Warren still had his hands up and wasn't inclined to put them down. _Holy shit she has claws!_

His face showed his discomfort and the girl must have taken the hint, but she didn't lower the threatening claws.

Alex almost smiled at Feather Boy's discomfort, and barely kept her face neutral. Blue Man looked uncomfortable, as did the females. John turned to her and gave her an apologetic look as he realized that he had just made things worse.

"_Sorry."_ Whispered the voice that was John in her head_. "These are my friends Bobby and Warren. I trust them." _

To prove his point he walked up to Bobby and Feather Boy, then turned his back to them to look at her. Alex wondered how John could know exactly what made Alex comfortable, what proved the point to her, what showed exactly what he said.

For the benefit of Bobby and Feather Boy he said. "This is Alex, Alex could you please put those away your going to skewer someone by accident."

"It wouldn't be by accident." Alex replied as she lowered her claws and let them slide back into place. She was rewarded by the spike of fear she smelled coming from both of the males and females.

Deciding to ignore them, she went back to the table, situating herself so that she could watch them, and she went right back to eating. She sensed another's presence coming and shot a look up from the sloppy Joe she was eating with a sigh. _I'm never going to get to finish my meal. _She was wrong as Blue Man went to intercept the interloper.

"John?" It was Feather Boy. He hadn't once taken his eyes off of her. "Um. Are you okay?" Having not receiving an answer the first time he asked again, worry interlacing his voice.

"Oh I'm fine." John said. Alex looked at him and raised an eyebrow. _Fine? You're covered in blood._

"_You're no better."_ Taunted his voice, but as he looked down at his clothes. He smiled and Alex's heart did a little flip.

He burst out laughing at his appearance. Alex couldn't help it, over a decade of discipline didn't help as she laughed along with him. Her laugh burst free and Alex was glad to find she could still laugh outside of her pack/family.

Sabertooth's neck was killing him as he opened his eyes. Looking up he realized that he was on the ground. Standing up he moaned. What the hell happened? He glanced around waiting for last nights events to catch up. It always took a moment; his brain shut them out, because way back when he had no reason to live he didn't want to remember.

He started to move, then turned to try and figure out why his neck was hurting a few minutes ago. Looking down he found a rock that had been pressing against his neck the whole time he laid there.

Finally inch-by-inch the last few hours came back. "Shit ALEX!" He turned and ran as fast as he did last night, hoping, praying, that she was all right and still there. As he ran he concentrated on his memories, letting everything come back.

He stopped at right after his talk with Toad. Slowly he went by, memory by memory.

_He hit the door, knocking it down. He was furious, zoo, what kind of sick fuck was he dealing with? He had yet to know how sick they really were._

_A nauseas smell hit him head on. "Shit, what's that smell?" He sneezed a few times. Deciding that he might not want to smell all there was to smell, he stopped._

_Alex had a thoughtful look on her face. She smelled deeply and Sabertooth winced for her. "Blood, death, scat, and. . . " Another deep breath. "Pain. Maybe a hint of despair as well." The answer was delivered in the deadpan voice he was becoming familiar with. Sabertooth was sorry he asked as Alex pushed past._

"_David, Nick, Stephan, Phil, Max, Bill, Lisa, Jen, Rain? AJ, Scott, Lee, Katie, Cassie, Lacy, Dan? Keith, Kevin?" Alex voice carried in the silence._

"_Alex?" The voices were all hesitant, but there were to few to be all of the names she called to. "Is that you?"_

"_Where is everyone else? Are you all okay?" She was moving toward the voices._

_Sabertooth moved forward to follow her, but was forced back as Toad grabbed his arm. Toad looked him straight in the eye, and then turned away. Sabertooth hated himself for understanding, but he did. Understanding that look he stopped and waited. Waited for him to be needed, waited for a cue to come forth._

_Alex didn't notice her father fall back; she was totally preoccupied with finding her family. She pulled up to the still electrified cage. "Where are the others? What happened?"_

"_Alex thank god you're here. They're dead, damn it Alex, they were killed." David her second in command rushed up to see her. The mutant was six foot, pale from lack of sun as were the rest of them. His once beautiful, shiny, clean, blond hair was limp and greasy from lack of cleaning._

"_Why are you here? Are you all right?" David forgot himself and reached through the bars. "Fudge!" He drew his hand inside the bars again; the zap he received was enough to scorch his arm, adding the smell of burnt skin to the scents in the air._

"_Keep your wits about you, idiot!" The reply was from Kevin. A mutant that wasn't happy at all. He turned to Alex with a sneer on his face. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be back in your cage?"_

"_Alex? What's going on?" A small boy about two, stumbled up. "Did you bring yum-yums? My tummy was rumbling." Moving forward the small three-foot boy looked at her with wide eyes and hands out stretched._

"_Better Keith." Alex looked at the small boy ignoring the crude Kevin. "I've come to get you out."_

"_What! Really? We are very happy to know that." Lacy, Dan, and Nick cried at the same time. Rushing out of the dark half of the large cell, the triplets collided with David almost knocking him into the cell's walls. Being identical triplets they spoke at the same time mostly. _

"_Shi . . ." David stopped mid word. "P." David sighed in relief. "Watch where you're going!" David spat at the triplets more terrified than hurt. "What do you mean by you've come to get us out? If you remember the whole place is swarming with military, military that can kill **US**."_

_Alex rolled her eyes, her small form moving to look at the electric cell._

"_Hey where's everyone else?" The upset looking Froggie shoot into the room. Alex had the sudden knowledge that over half her family was dead, making Alex want to cry; fortunately Kevin couldn't keep his moth shut. He had yet to be dominated by Alex in a fight and was feeling rebellious._

"_They already escaped, the only way we are going to get out of here." As the power went down to the bars he remained inside, not willing to suffer the soldiers wrath. "Did she fall for the trick again? Toad! You let her fall for this too! Well I'm not going to fall for this!" Kevin sparked her anger._

_Alex turned to him ignoring for the moment the clutching hands of Dan. "Well now there is no electricity in your way. You can come and take the leadership from me." Alex walked through the cell door that small Dan opened and transformed into a wolf._

_Kevin looking at the changed mutant before him, becoming angry as well. Shifting into the shape of a wolf, revealing his mutation, he didn't wait before he attacked. Slicing Alex down the side that would have 'killed' her had she not dodged to one-side moments before. She still wasn't fast enough as a slash formed down her stomach._

_Sabertooth ran into the room to see the two wolves fighting. Which one Alex was was apparent as the blue wolf dodged away striking a blow equal to the one on her to the black wolf's side. He looked at the blood that spread down her side in amazement. She was somehow controlling her healing factor, making it a fair fight._

_Alex hated doing this, but she didn't have time for Kevin's dominance problems. Dodging past his defense Alex sprung for his throat. Usually she let them get their aggressiveness out before beating them. _

_Grabbing mostly hair, but enough flesh to hurt she spun him onto his back. She then drove him into the ground, growling at him she demanded that he submit. The wolf underneath her fought her hold, the wolf wanted to let him up and teach him to respect her authority. The ever-present human in her argued that she didn't have time._

_She shook her head shaking him as well. He whimpered as her teeth sunk into the skin, he gave up, tucking his tail in between his legs he begged for forgiveness in the manner of the wolf._

_The wolf in Alex was satisfied and was finished, but he had aroused the human in her. Soldier was not satisfied, furious that he had dared to undermine her, especially in front of her troops! She held on to his neck, satisfied as he began to choke._

_Toad, Dan, David, Sabertooth, Lacy, Keith, Nick, Max, and Rain watched. Unwilling to help, they were fascinated, they would stand there and let there leader kill Kevin. Kevin wasn't pack, even if he was Alex was their leader. Alex was the only one they trusted; the little ones thought that Kevin must have done something to upset her._

_Kevin's wolf side was in the forefront. It decided that Alex was the alpha; the wolf in him trusted that the alpha knew what she was doing. Kevin wanted to fight for the life that Alex was taking away. They came to a compromise, and the black wolf below her begged to be saved._

_Alex let up as she came back to her senses. Kevin remained below her as she fought the snide voice telling her to kill him. "Leave me alone! I'm not you! I'm me!" Alex chocked out transforming into her normal self. She jerked back, slamming herself into the far side of the cell. Her breaths came in short gasps._

_Little Keith whimpered, moving forward. "Alex? You okay? You got a boo boo on you tummy." Keith walked up to Alex._

"_No. Get back, Keith. I'm dangerous." Alex's claws slid out as she warned him._

_Toad rushed forward and snatched him away. Everyone, with the exception of Alex, moved out of the cell. Sabertooth dragged out Kevin, as he was unable to crawl at the moment. All except Sabertooth knew what Kevin had provoked. Kevin cowered in a corner knowing that he almost cost them everything. Even Dan understood the importance of what was happening, he stretched his legs growing another foot, reaching the electric box he flipped the switch and the others watched._

_Alex's claws dove into the stonewall. Her red eyes now a weird swirling mix of colors. Alex was fighting a fight that was uniquely hers._

_(For inside Alex's head **snide voice, **innocent voice, &mom&, #wolverine#, Alex!Soldier, $thinker$ . . . wow every once and a while during this brief internal fight, I will repost it. Sorry if you're confused, but think about poor Alex.)_

_! Kill them. Kill them all! Soldier roared in Alex._

_& He has suffered enough, he didn't do anything wrong. & The calm reasonable mom spoke._

_$ If you're not challenged, then you get too cocky, and are killed when your back is turned. $ Thinker stated for once not going on._

_ I can't be killed. I'm invincible! Snide snarled in reprof._

_$ Your invincible, but others aren't. &_

_! That's why you must kill them now. Before they can be used against you! Kill them, kill them . . . ! The soldier continued to chant it in the back ground as the others fought._

_ I'm me so you need to get out of my head, I won't kill anyone. I'm going to listen to my mom. _

_! Then why are you charging the electrified cage bars? Screaming Kill kill? Sorry, but it seems I'm on the forefront in this battle. !_

_ Why would you do that? Why would you hurt Kevin? Innocent seemed terrified and confused. She never understood violence, the others protected her as often as possible._

_ I agree with Soldier. I'm helping him. That's why we're winning. HA! _

_# I'm helping too. Don't ask why. I'm evil! Evil! Eeeviiiilllll! # (Okay I know that is not the way Wolverine acts but everyone acts weird in Alex's head. Deal.)_

_( Snide voice , innocent voice , & mom &, # wolverine #, Alex ! Soldier , $ thinker $)_

_$ I'm not getting in the middle of this. I'm neutral, there are pros and cons on both sides of the conversation are extremely tangible . . . $ Thinker continued to talk about the pros and cons, but everyone tuned it out. _

_ Maybe if we all team up then we can kill him. _

_& You can't kill him. He's part of all of us. He maybe a cough little boring, but I'm your mother so deal with it. &_

_OUT! OUT! OUT! OUT! I'm Tired of this so OUT!_

_Sabertooth was officially freaked out. Alex had gone from attacking the wall, to attacking the electrified bars screaming Kill, to screaming, out. The entire time her eyes changing color. _

_He looked toward the others, The Dragons. "So . . . who are you guys?"_

_No one seemed inclined to tell him anything, anything at all. Sabertooth looked toward Toad. "So are you going to help me? Alexand . . . Alex said that there were twenty of you total. I count nine, so where is the rest?"_

_The wolf that he had dragged out transformed into a boy about fifteen, with tan almost caramel skin with black hair, and almost golden eyes. His neck was bleeding slightly and so was his side but other then that Sabertooth couldn't tell if he was just covered in that much filth or if he was bruised that much. _

"_Their gone, dead." He sniffed in scorn, but rubbed his neck where Alex's teeth sunk too deep. "I'm Kevin." He growled out. "You really the boss' dad?" Being newly dominated he now treaded carefully, what the alpha said went. _

_He would follow every rule and study all the ranks of command. His lesson being new, he was less likely to want to anger Alex. Right now he only recognized her strength as a fighter. Latter he might come to respect her, or fear her more, but already he had completely put his life in the small blue girls hands along with rest of The Dragons._

_Alex's fight was over, she was thrilled when she was finally able to control her body again. She found her self on the floor. "My head. Which one of them did this?" She opened her eyes and looked at her pack. _

"_Everyone alright?" She moaned out while struggling to her feet. _

"_We're fine, now." Came the reply, in unison, from the triplets, Lacy, Dan, and Nick. _

_David just nodded in the affirmative. Keith now in Max's arms just stared at her, not quite able to comprehend what had happened. Rain walked behind Max and grinned, the first one to seemingly be happy._

_Alex looked toward Kevin. "Well I'm glad you're still alive. I think." _

_Kevin looked at her; he was standing but didn't seem inclined to do anything without permission. _

"_Dad could you please turn off the electricity?" Alex looked at her father, who being so shocked that she had called him dad was just staring. "Earth to dad, come in dad. There you are, I'm going to be zapped to death, again. Could you flip a switch, it's right behind you. Come on you could do it." Alex sounded like she was talking to a shy dog. _

_Sabertooth was embarrassed that he had been off in dreamland so he walked over to the electric box. Even though there was only one switch he looked at the box thoughtfully. "Which one should I choose? So many choices . . ."_

_Alex let out an ever-suffering sigh and waited patiently. Keith looked at Sabertooth from Max's arms and giggled, he pointed toward the giant switch on the box. "There! Silly!" He pointed then buried his head into Max's shoulder and continued to giggle softly. _

"_There? Oh, the switch . . . are you sure?" At a nod from the head still buried into Max's shoulder, Sabertooth flipped the switch and the electricity cut off. _

"_Alex?" Little Keith said, his head now appearing from Max's shoulder. "Is he really your dad?" _

_Alex looked at Keith and opened the door to the cage; she then looked at everyone one at a time. She walked up to Sabertooth placing a hand on his elbow, the highest part of him that she could grab with out reaching way up, looking like a little kid who was standing next to her father, she nodded her head still in affirmative._

( "Yes he is, but that doesn't mean you have to trust him. I still don't.

I will watch him, and wait for his role in the pack to be realized. In the past, when things were fake, I was forced to leave alone; I was forced to 'travel light'. He beat the shit outta me and never apologized. He has done things that make me want to believe him, he doesn't were cologne and he smells like he is telling the truth. If he becomes not worthy of that trust I will defend you with my life and I will take you, my pack, The Dragons, away from him and we will go somewhere else. I will protect you, I will defend you. But yes I he is my father, really my father." ) (The Dragons use a special language it will be surrounded by ( 'kay back to the fic.)

_Sabertooth looked at her a bit confused. "Uh . . . are you speaking English? Is what you said good?" He looked at The Dragons but none of their expressions had changed. They turned and seemed to ignore him, the started to head toward the door._

_The triplets looked up suddenly. "Do you hear that?" Everyone froze in the act of going towards the door. The sound of boots clicking in the hallway could be heard through out the room, the murmurs were indistinctive. "Who is it? We are curious." _

_Alex looked up, "Shoot. It must be the troops." She looked around, and then towards her dad, she seemed a little uncertain. Could he have been lying? Did she just sentence The Dragons to death?_

_Even though they must have been thinking along same lines, all of her Dragons looked to her for reassurance. "How long since you busted in?" She decided to ask, trying to put the mask back into place, after letting it slip so much._

_Sabertooth looked towards the door, then at his watch. "Uh . . . almost 13 hours ago. It took us a while for you to heal, and for you to get over the thing that happened in the cell. What was that in there anyhow?" He looked at her and then back towards the door. "You don't think I had anything to with this?" Looking at her now hardened face he decided that she did. "Is there a back way outta here?" Deciding that trying to convince her right now would be pointless, he moved on. _

_Alex looked at him in question, but started to move towards the back. "Not now but I can make one." _

_Sabertooth followed behind the other Dragons. He was behind two boys that had picked up the littlest kid and were taking turns caring him. Keeping one ear out for a rear attack he followed Alex down the hall as she twisted and turned her way out of the maze. _

_Suddenly he watched her pause; he walked up behind her and turned to see what she was looking at. "Logan?" _

_Alex was staring in morbid satisfaction at the man in front of her. She heard his voice uttered from every one of The Dragons in disgust, then she heard it from her father, a curios mixture of shock and happiness written in his scent and posture._

_The man in front of her looked up, and the world cried for what Sabertooth was about to go through, the rain hitting the roof harder and harder._

Sabertooth shook his head to get rid of the image; he was nearing the tree that Alex was near. He stopped his rush forward, almost falling backwards in his attempt. "Magneto."

Alex coughed a few times to get the laughter out of her system. She looked at John and smiled. She then looked at the door, sniffing her eyes went from dancing blood to a hard ruby. She hadn't accepted Feather Boy or Bobby, but she was more at ease with them then she was with the man that was about to walk in.

She could smell the sudden confusion coming from everyone in the room, but didn't bother to speak out loud. She spoke to John because she felt the need to. _Incoming of the unpleasant kind._

Blue Man came in first, giving her an apologetic look. She didn't wonder why because she smelt him, even before the man walked in.

Alex tensed, claws ready, and forward, evaluating the area. She could smell the sudden fear coming of the females and both males, not caring about the state of mind the others were in she let out a menacing growl. Inching slowly backward towards the window. The Men rolled in in a wheel chair, startling Alex into stopping her growling for a nanosecond. _Huh?_

Professor Charles Xavier walked into a scene that shocked him. Standing in front of him was a young mutant that looked in a weird way like Logan. Rolling forward he raised his hand. "I'm sorry to have disturbed your meal." Looking at the teen in front of him and around at the mess on the table.

Alex growled out, "You're not the only one to do so." She began to walk backwards again, back towards the window.

"Alex?" John said hesitantly. "Where are you going?"

Alex shot a look at John, pleading for him to please not make this harder then it is.

"Alex? Will you consider coming to my office? I wish to speak to you in private." The Man spoke again, for some odd reason she got an immediate vibe that matched her Granddad's.

She shook her head, backing up farther; she suddenly leaped up, landing carefully on the windowsill.

Blue Man sounded desperate as he blurted out. "But don't you want to go to school?"

That was the only thing that could have stopped her totally, that coupled with the lost look John was suddenly wearing was the other half of the equation. Still facing the grounds before her, Alex waited. Hesitation was something that she was trained not to do, ever, but that was exactly what she was doing.

_Follow your instincts soldier! They keep you alive; you're in enemy territory! RUN! Retreat! _

Alex wrinkled her nose, but turned around, balancing precariously on the ledge of the sill. _You're not the boss of me!_ She snapped at Soldier, hating the way she sounded like a defiant child.

"If I do that doesn't mean anything, it just means that I want to go to school." Alex looked at The Man; she felt a soft movement in her mind and became enraged. "OUT OF MY HEAD!" The Man erased any doubt she had of leaving.

Jumping out of the window she landed directly into Logan's path.

"Alex!" John's voice reached her ears, having never bothered to retract her claws she brought them forward and charged.

Charles knew he had just blown a very important moment. The expressionless look she had given him had made him curious as to her emotions and instinctually he had reached lightly toward her mind.

John rounded to him giving him a disappointed look. Turning he rushed toward the door giving Charles had a bad feeling.

A moment later he discovered that Logan and Alex were fighting as the clash of metal resounded from below. Charles tried to get a hold of Wolverine below him.

_Logan, please retreat we don't want to scare her anymore._ Receiving no response Charles spoke allowed. Right now not wanting to go all the away around to the door and back as John, Warren, and Bobby were apparently doing, he shouted out the window down below.

"Logan! I SUGGEST YOU STOP OR YOU WILL LIVE LIKE A THREE YEAR OLD GIRL FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!" Logan had apparently heard him and taken the threat seriously because he backed away. Still keeping his claws ready he looked up toward The Man.

"I'll stop, but would you really do that?" Wolverine asked, his gruff voice raking on Alex's nerves

Watching in satisfaction as Logan's wounds closed off still leaving blood on his clothes, Alex didn't notice John sneaking up on her. She turned to leave while The Man and Logan were temporarily distracted. But as she was about to run a small explosion knocked her over.

Turning over quickly she was glad for the thousandth time that night that her family taught her so well. Adverting her claws mid strike was difficult, but Alex had been taught how, her claws grazing the flesh near John's windpipe, Alex jerked back. "Shit! What the fuck do you think you are doing? Idiot! I could have killed you!"

Alex, ever one to express her feelings let loose a punch the landed in the middle of his chest. Even not using her full strength Alex knew it would still leave a large bruise.

She sensed Feather Boy's coming charge and rolled out from under John's body in time to miss most of the charge. Just glimpsing her shoulder it threw her once again off balance.

"HALT!" The Man shouted from above again, Alex seeing the missed placed but convenient tree, having just crashed into it promptly retreated upwards. Away from the ever-charging bodies below, Alex thought about where she was, how to get home, and about the prospective of going to school.

The Man had apparently decided to join them, and Alex watched him warily from above. "Let's start over? Hello Alex, My name is Professor Charles Xavier. I would like to help you."

Alex's eye's remained dead. "No really? What do you want?" Alex was unaware that she had repeated almost the same thing that her uncle had.

The Man looked at Alex with a strange look on his face. "Follow me and I'll show you."

Alex stood up in her tree. "Thanks, but I gotta get home, or my dad 'll be real worried. He might even come here and if this is really a school you might not like the company he brings." Alex put the subtle threat in there, just in case.

"Maybe I could help." The Man spoke, though he did sound a bit worried that the 'school' might be in danger. "I do have Cerebro, it helps me contact mutants from far distances. If you give me his last were-abouts then I can track him and have Scott bring the jet out to him. Now please describe him."

Alex almost laughed. "Well, let me see. His last current location was a town spelled, G O F U C K Y O U R S E L F."

John as well as everyone else had gone red in the face, John sputtered in indignation for a moment. "Alex! What do you think your saying!" But he had a wealth of laughter in his voice.

The Man's face burst into flame, red faced but trying to hold onto the laughter he sputtered. After waiting for his laughter to subside. "Will you at least tell me his description?"

Alex thought about the possibilities that the info will get right fall into the wrong hands. Deciding to keep the information vague, she released that he was blond, tall and had long hair. Watching the sickened look that passed across John's face she jumped down.

"What is it John? What do you know? What's wrong?" She didn't wait for an answer and that was her down fall, acting on her impatience she peeked into his head. Seeing the brief glimpse of the long blond haired man, watching his head chopped of. Alex felt everything fall apart. "NNNOOO!"

Her knees hit the ground with a hard thud. Claws jamming into the ground as a familiar feeling came over her. _Here we go again._

"Alex?" John's voice cut threw the revulsion in Alex's head for a moment.

"Yo, dude. Stic' me sumewhere I can't g't 'ou. 'Kay." Alex directed the comment to The Man. "Bett'r 'urry. 'Ont last 'ong." Alex tried to make intelligent speech as several personalities shot out of their cages; some rushing forward faster, wanting to destroy what had caused Alex so much pain.

John was confused but didn't question the orders given to him. Grabbing Logan's arm he dragged him closer. "Help me!"

He felt Alex stiffen as Logan grabbed her, but she didn't resist, which frightened him worse then if her head had spun around in rage.

Looking at the professor he silently let a question surface in his head.

"To the Danger room." Professor Charles Xavier turned and headed of in the direction indicated.

John let it completely slip his mind that he had blasted a hole threw it till they got there. "Opps. I think I might have, uh damaged the danger room, a little . . ." Looking a little, upset he avoided everyone's censorious gaze.

The Professor had already sent for back up. Rep came in, tools in hand, an angry look on her normal face.

"You just had to blow a hole threw the Danger room's walls didn't you?" Rep said, flipping her hair in an irritated way. She started to mumble as she set to work, using her tools to determine how much she had to replace.

Alex shifted in Logan's arms, her once red eyes a weird swirling red and green, Christmasy if you think of it. "'Urry, can't 'old out moch longer." Her voice went deeper and growled. "Almost there." Her eyes green now.

"Alex hold on! We're almost there." John didn't like the empty space that had been Alex's thoughts/emotions. Looking at Rep as she began her repairs on the danger room, he almost groaned in frustration.

Rep was working as fast as possible, her mutation being that she could grow thing from the stump of what they had been. (Ex. A sword is cut in two; she can make them turn into two swords.) But she needed to know the diameters to be able to fit a hole.

Finishing the replacement, she moved out of the way as the girl that had been lying in Logan's arms, stiff and shaking with some barely controlled emotion, came shooting by. The door slammed shut just as her eye's turning pure black, catching Rep's.

Rep gasped at the black hole that existed where emotions once did. Being sucked in, feeling utter hopelessness seep in, there was no meaning to her life. No reason she should scream as a blade passed into her skin, ending the suffering. The door shut just in time to save Rep from walking threw them, walking right onto the blue girls out stretched claws.

Looking at the Professor, she said in a pale weak voice that somehow held conviction. "Make it end." She wasn't thinking anymore, wasn't thinking about what she said. In her minds eye she saw the black eyes, the endless eyes, those eyes had wanted to ease her suffering. "Make the pain end!" She screamed, the pain of living driving her to her knees.

She was back there; in the place she had buried the memories.

The cries of her friends around her as she hid.

Hid behind a small dumpster, watching the butchering of her family, watching the F.O.H. slaughter them all.

The Professor watched as one of his happiest, most love-life student, sobbed on the ground. Sobbed and asked for him to kill her. Reaching out a placating hand he touched her mind, feeling raw the old horrible feelings surface, memories she had forgotten, resurface. Every bad thing she had ever done, seen done, or had done to her was there; all in the forefront of her mind.

"What in the world?" Looking at the newly repaired door Charles wondered what kind of poor soul screamed in such agony behind it. Wincing as he heard a thump then the sound of flesh on metal, he wondered what kind of trauma had happened to the poor child, the one before him and behind the door.

Charles sent his mind into the Danger Room, trying to figure out what was going on. Not only did he find Alex, but several other mutants with her. "Oh no."

Sabertooth looked at Magneto and frowned. "Magneto, what are you doing here? Do you have Alex? Where's Alex? Is she alright?" Sabertooth very rarely spoke like a moron but a sinking feeling in his gut told him something was very, very wrong.

Magneto looked at him and he knew that she wasn't with him.

"What do you mean, where's Alex! She's with you! You took her shopping!" The Third in command behind Magneto shouted. Kevin didn't look happy at all.

"Told you there was something wrong. Told you! Now we must look for her to the south. In New York, yes New York." Turning the triplets started to head in the direction of New York, not being able to wait, they set out with a single-minded purpose.

Lacy, Dan, and Nick, had had a vision this morning, just before the shooting, that Alex was going to be taken away by a black shadow, then go to a lab where she would fight Logan. Having told their family the news they all ran to save Alex. Finding the truck empty they had begun the search for their missing family members.

"Is Alex gone?" The soft confusion from the youngest of their numbers was almost comforting. Keith was fourteen now, and he relied on Alex more then anyone else.

"Keith grab the triplets we need to regroup. New York is in the states. Which means we're going to need pass ports, food, fake names, phone numbers, housing, jobs, disguises, and time." David, now in command, lived up to the job. Dishing out orders like a pro.

Max wrapped his arm around Rain's waist, a silent show of companionship and comfort.

Rain was very reliant on Alex as well. He was scared; terrified that he would never see her again. Having firmly wrapped him self around Alex, he totally lost with out her. Rain looked at his mate, Max was shaking as well. He had never been to the states, and Max was an import from England.

It was Max's life dream that he would go to the United States, now wrapping his arm around the only man he would ever love, he was eager to leave.

Aunt Mystique looked at them then wrapped her arms around both boys' shoulders. "It's alright, it wont take long. Magneto and I will get the pass ports soon."

The shape shifter was closer to a mother then anyone else aside from Alex. Alex was the only mother most of them had, without her Mystique was every one's back up plan.

Kevin shifted and started to sniff around. Picking up the smell of blood he followed it. Everyone followed and sighed. Kevin was Alex's left hand man, second only David, he grew to love her quickly. Once Kevin decided that he was your friend he never let you go. Distancing himself from the others as he broke into a run, Kevin thought about when he first realized when Alex had gone from a feared leader to a trustworthy friend.

_Sabertooth walked threw the door to their cabin. It had been six months since the escape and much to Sabertooth's horror all of the Dragons insisted on sleeping in the same room. When he refused to get a bed big enough to fit all of them they had slept on the floor. _

_He passed the bedroom and looked at the four beds put together. He stuck two of them side to side in two pairs. Putting the ends together it formed one huge bed. This was so that they could sleep in a comfy curled up pile together. _

_Kevin was awake but Sabertooth just nodded to him, Kevin didn't sleep until everyone else was. Under all of the covers on this particularly cold night limbs everywhere, snoring absent, which wasn't unusual for this group. _

_In the cell if you snored the guards would wake you and beat you. Needless to say, you don't snore, not if you every wanted to get to sleep. _

_Learning not to snore had been Keith's worse nightmare, being around two now he had mastered it. Keith was part of a breeding program, he had been born and raised in the facility and knew no other life. He hated open spaces and if it weren't for all of them surrounding him he wouldn't be able to function in the real world at all. _

_Kevin lay in the heap, staring at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep. He couldn't help but not trust the others. They accepted him only because they knew he was powerless against their leader. Only acknowledging the fact that their leader dominated him so he was 'safe'. _

_Kevin hated Alex with a passion, she degraded him, he wasn't safe here but he needed a pack. Kevin had long ago accepted that he would be stuck here; he didn't have to like it. _

_Suddenly Alex rolled over and snuggled into his shoulder, sighing the pained look on her face disappeared. Like he had chased away her nightmares. Kevin felt a curious melting his heart. Looking at the girl eight years his junior he suddenly felt less like a prisoner and more like the family. Looking back he realized that everyone had treated him as family since he had fought with Alex. _

_She snuggled deeper into his shoulder, almost burrowing into it, taking a deep breath she relaxed completely into a deeper sleep. David on her other side turned and snuggled into her. _

_Little Keith snuggled onto Kevin's right leg; it was numb because he had already been laying on it. Surrounded by his pack Kevin began to feel like he was part of something bigger, part of one whole. Part of a family. A peace stole into him and he fought sleep to keep it in him for as long as possible but he soon lost the fight. Drifting off to sleep with a smile on his face. _

Since that night Kevin had protected the Dragons above all else, putting his life and limbs in danger for them. Having the favor returned on many occasions too.

But never for Alex, she took care of her self. Now he had the chance to help her, with more then just the dishes or something trivial like that.

Arriving at the scene he began to sniff out; the bloating body near by almost making him sick, and filling him with hunger. Pushing every thing else aside he found her.

A boy had been here, Alex's fear made him gag, hatred for that smell over took him. Finding the other various smells he cataloged them and marked them down on his death list.

He took a deep breath and howled when he remembered the smell that had been nagging him. David came out right after that.

Kevin looked at him, transforming back into human shape. "I'm going to find her, you stay here, get the others ready. I will find her. We will get her back." Looking David in the eye, knowing that he wanted to go just as badly. "You wouldn't be able to stand the isolation, and you're in charge now." Not waiting for a response from the man in charge he transformed and turned heading south, towards New York. Heading home, after he swore never to.

Heading home.

David watched Kevin disappear and knew instantly that he was right, that he couldn't stand the isolation. Feeling like he was sinking into blackness already, he turned to try and find someone, anyone to just stay near him. He was thrilled as Rain, Keith, and Max popped out of the trees.

Relief washed over him and Max laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. All of the Dragons needed constant contacted with their pack; a hand on the shoulder, just the presence of another family member was enough. Kevin, Toad, and Alex were the only ones who could go for any extended period of time without it.

"Toad shit . . . he's going to be so pissed." The strangled statement was from David.

Rain's eyes widened in surprise and a small amount of fear. "Not it!"

"Not it!" Max stated.

"Not it." Said all of the Dragons, Magneto, Mystique, and Sabertooth in sequence. Not wanting to tell the bed ridden member that his little sister was missing.

David just stood there in shock. Everyone looked at him smiling. "Uwnn." David groaned as he realized that he was the only one left.

Dipping his head as they all explored the bloody area. Max was the one who found the decapitated man.

Keith walked forward to see what the fuss was about. "Eww. Nasty, why would someone leave a body here? The evidence could easily be traced back to them. Stupid norms." Turning his head a glimmer from the moon made the jack on the back of his neck.

Keith, being born at the military base was the weirdest of them all. There was a computer jack on his head let him download information from a computer. The only thing was he had the hardest time of them all thinking for himself. Lacy, Nick, Dan, David, Max, and Rain almost couldn't think for themselves.

Most of them had been at The Place for leeway. Alex hadn't wanted to do what she was told. Refusing to run simulation, or missions, attacking personal, being rude, disruptive, and killing scientists; trying to figure out how to control her they had tried pain, starvation, torture, everything.

One day one of the guards had hit Toad for dropping a bucket on his toe. Alex went crazy, slicing them into little bits with her fingernails, growing them sharp first. It hadn't taken long for the scientists to exploit that advantage, gathering other children, older and younger, to torture if she disobeyed.

They would cover it up by telling them they had done something wrong, they hadn't followed directions, did something they weren't told to do, till finally the poor children had convinced them selves that it was their fault and they deserved it. Deserved the punishment dealt to them, till they were afraid to speak, act, sometimes even breath, sleep or eat without express permission.

Kevin just was thinking along the same path as the others. They all shared a link, were able to sense where the others were. Following the same direction of thoughts, Kevin thought about himself.

Kevin hadn't been There long enough. They had escaped before he grew totally dependent, totally brainwashed. He still was weird like the rest of them; he could go a few days with out constant companionship crippling him to the worse extreme. He also could think for himself better then the others; not as well as Alex because Alex didn't care about pain that changed the others to what they are; but enough so that he might be able to function for a day or so.

Kevin shook his wolf head, trotting down the path, in the woods. Traveling ten or fifteen miles in two or three hours is a peace of cake to all wolves, traveling for days straight would exhaust him a little but not enough to make him stop, a good thing cause he would be traveling on foot till he could steal a car.

Against all the adults protests Kevin taught all of his pack how to pick a lock and steal cars. Rain taught them how to pick pockets, Max to shop lift. Alex taught them all when all or any of them were necessary.

Now followed under that rule, Kevin wasn't allowed to keep the car, getting as far as he could on what ever amount of gas there was then dumping it, making sure that it was wiped of all finger prints. Then call the police and tell them that he had stolen a car at and that he was a mile marker to please tell the owner thank you. Then continue on his way.

He checked out the first dine in gas station, watching as a black sports car filled up with gas.

Snickering as the punk walked in paid for the gas then stuck around to flirt with a waitress, Kevin transformed. Creeping closer and closer Kevin looked down the road, shivering in the particularly crisp cold afternoon.

He had been traveling a few hours, getting far enough away but now it was snowing. The snow hadn't bothered him except for slowing him and freezing his paws. The constant slowing got to him and he needed to cover ground, and fast.

Now in the cold as a barely clad man he wasn't so lucky as too have all that fur. Getting close enough to try the handle Kevin almost blew his cover by laughing out load. The keys in the ignition, Kevin just turned the keys and drove off as fast as possible, a full tank what luck!

"I'm coming Alex, I'm coming." Kevin whispered as the motor roared and the punk came running out.

Alex shape shifted into the soldier; her muscles growing; fur covering her arms, skin, eyes, and hair turning a dark green and brown; the mixed colors for camouflage. It now stood a head taller then its dad, the size meant to intimidate, and making it harder for a man to get an accurate shot at it's head.

Wrinkling its nose at the walls around it Solider waited for Alex's memories to come. What do the mil's want now? Why did Alex bring it forward? What was so terrible that she needed it to retreat into?

The last thing that happened popped into Soldier's head. The horrified Soldier roared.

Soldier slowly, year by year, grew to love all of the Dragons. Sabertooth, Mystique, and Magneto were included in that grouping as well. Especially Sabertooth, he was its father, Soldier had warmed up to him faster then the others.

Now he was gone, gone, gone, gone. The missing tear glands burned in phantom pain. Alex had been specific when constructing Soldier's physical from.

Soldier couldn't speak, its throat made for grunts, howls, snarls, growls, and roars only. Its eyes are missing their tear glands. In the end the result was a killing machine that couldn't cry out, or cry at all.

Soldier was Alex's defense against the world, just another part of her; the hardest part of her. It looked at the claw marks on the walls, the marks Alex had created because forcing her shape like this is worse then any of the others.

Soldier calmly read threw the rest of Alex's memories.

Going to the small cowering part of its brain that the others were recuperating in, Soldier fought down envy. It envied them because they could grieve right now and it could only wait till they were better till it could start.

Soldier was asked to stay there. To learn all it could, to trust John completely, not kill Logan until all of them could be able to witness it, not blow its cover, leave those John trusted alone, spend most of its time around John or the Blue Man, and please not kill everyone else.

Alex gave the order to go knock on the door; then retreated to the far corner, crying her eyes out with the others.

Soldier carefully, knowing that if it wasn't careful it might hurt the door, it knocked on it.

John had listened for the last ten minutes as something tore up the inside of the danger room. Warren, Bobby, Logan, Rep, Hank, and the others had left. Leaving the professor and him alone.

Now listening to the loud knock on the door John let hope swell up, reaching for Alex's mind as his hand reached for the door John was met with a blank wall. Nothing at all. Suddenly John had a bad feeling but his hand had continued, the door opened and John fell back wards. "Jesus Christ! Who the hell are you!"

The thing wrinkled its nose and growled but pushed past him. It looked at the professor then at him, grunting it walked out.

Soldier looked at a man sitting in a wheel chair then at the one called John. Grunting it hunkered down to eye level with John. Its glittering eyes stared at him, it willed him to at least try and understand.

Its mitch-matched eyes flashed red for a split second, that was all it took and Soldier knew it.

John looked at Wheels; Soldier knew that Alex referred to him as The Man, but all of them had very different opinions about everything. Letting out a very Sabertooth like snarl Soldier turned to Wheels, moving very slowly forward like a curled up snake right before it strikes.

Soldier reached forward after stopping very close. Touching him on the shoulder Soldier shrugged, (tongue twister!) it had wanted to see if it could scare him and now knew that even though he was scared Wheels held his ground.

"Alex?" The question was from John.

Soldier turned and grunted, John looked like he was trying to understand but couldn't quite. Raising a mammoth hand, it made the sorta sigh.

"What do you mean?" Wheels asked.

Soldier was getting dizzy from the turning back and forth so ignored the question and started to explore, knowing that eyes were watching it all the time. _This is going to be a lloonngg day._

_Almost there, Alex. Don't you worry. _Kevin chanted in his head, speeding down the deserted road. If he went slower then he might get farther on less gas, but it was one of the safety rules. Grab and speed, get as far away form the crime as possible and pray you weren't caught. He was glad that not many people were out or they might call the cops on a half naked man driving a car down the highway at break neck speeds.

Looking at the gauge on the dashboard Kevin cursed, the gas would be gone any minute.

Opps, wrong, now.

Kevin sighed as he started down the road in the blizzard, looking for a sign that told him how much farther to New York. Stopping he saw a huge expanse of frozen lake, Lake Michigan. Yee-fucking-haw, another hundred miles and he might be where he needed to be, might.

Changing shape to avoid frostbite, he started across the lake he hoped that any plane that flew over wouldn't find it strange to see a wolf crossing the lake in a blizzard at 9 am.

His claws clicking on the ice he went back into the mile-eating trot. He traveled and traveled, everything looking the same, nothing changing but the depth of the snow and the cold slowly sinking into his bones.

After hours of trotting, hours of the biting wind, he finally let himself rest. Curling up, his paws hiding in his chest fur, his nose in his tail. Kevin closed his eyes to sleep, his mind trying to remain calm, his body wanting to go forward. Forward toward his family, towards his pack.

Fifteen minutes later Kevin found himself back in a trot, unable to stop going forward.

_New York here I come._ Kevin thought bitterly, glad the ice between his toes had melted during his brief brake.

Soldier sniffed around, going through each room till all that was left was the elevator.

Wheels hadn't left its side the entire time, not speaking, letting it gaze wander over the Blackbird appreciatively. He apparently understood that it was tired of questions.

"Excuse me? We do need to get going, you've been here for forty-eight hours, or at least Alex has, and we need sleep because tomorrow we have school. So are you goin' up or shall we bring some blankets down for you?" Wheels spoke startling Soldier slightly.

Soldier looked at the elevator then stepped in. Unlike Alex, Soldier was incapable of being scared; it didn't have that part of the brain.

Wheels exchanged looks towards John but stepped up. Soldier tensed moving away, a part of it wanting to stay outta reach, and another didn't like to be touched.

Charles looked at the creature before him. The hair on its arms was light enough so that when it was hot it wouldn't over heat it but it would protect it in 10 and below weather. It moved in complete silence to the point that in more then one case they lost it. The obvious muscles wrapped around its arms showed it was strong; to help in hand to hand battles.

One eye green and the other brown to match its coloring was ideal for camouflage. Everything about it was meant for survival, everything unbending, and everything fight ready. Curious Charles reached forward, using his lightest mental touch, Charles explored.

Soldier looked at Wheels, and growled. Slamming its shield down, it reached out and broke the mental arm, roaring at him silently. All of the color in his face vanished and he sucked in his breath. Beads of sweat dotted his brow as if his own arm had been snapped in two.

Eyes blazing Soldier was grateful when the door opened and burst forward out the door.

It was met by a group of very military looking people. It let a roar out that shook the walls, at the person closest to the door.

Pushing past the group that seemed to swarm around it, it grabbed him and lifted Logan above the ground. It ignored the shouts around it and closed down. Its only thought being to kill this man, the single-minded purpose it was built with kicking in.

The blast caught it off guard but nothing could stop it once it locked the metal in its arm and hand. Logan's face turned blue as he stabbed it repeatedly, cutting at its arm till he realized it was pointless to fight. Using up the little oxygen that was in his body to feed his arm muscles.

Soldier watched as he passed out and smiled, increasing the pressure.

Cliffy, need more? Well give me time and more reviews. BYE!


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it took so long I will try to do better.

Thanks for reviewing.

Last time on Sabertooth's daughter:

It was met by a group of very military looking people. It let a roar out that shook the walls at the person closest to the door.

Pushing past the group that seemed to swarm around it, it grabbed him and lifted Logan above the ground. It ignored the shouts around it and closed down. Its only thought being to kill this man, the single-minded purpose it was built with kicking in.

The blast caught it off guard but nothing could stop it once it locked the metal in its arm and hand. Logan's face turned blue as he stabbed it repeatedly, cutting at its arm till he realized it was pointless to fight. Using up the little oxygen that was in his body to feed his arm muscles.

Soldier watched as he passed out and smiled, increasing the pressure.

Now ...

Soldier wanted so badly to finish him off. The others would understand; or not come to think on it. Shrugging off the unhappy thought its hands started to cramp. It felt him die, happiness overriding its grief for the moment.

Letting go and becoming aware of its surroundings momentarily, Soldier noticed the Bad Doctor trying to push it back using some kind of invisible hand. It let the pain of its injuries rush upon it and turned to the group.

John was staring at it with a weird look on his face. So was everyone else for that matter. It sent the quicksilver to the most important parts of its body. That was a talent Uncle Logan always envied.

Alex, in any form, could control her quicksilver. While Logan healed every little scratch till his silver wore out thus leaving him tired and unable to heal, Alex could hold it inside and send it to the most important parts first, healing it till it stops bleeding or all the way, depending where it was and at what point in her fight she was in.

Her quicksilver always resided in her important organs, healing them instantly, no matter what she did. The only thing was, her quicksilver had a mind of its own and would fight her if she didn't use it at all in a serious fight, like the one where she fought her father, it had been furious at her for days. Letting her heal from all non-vital wounds all be her lonesome.

All of the Military people looked at it with horror and were about to open fire. Soldier tensed glad for a fight… that is until a little kid wandered past rubbing her eyes and dragging a little stuffed dog behind her.

Looking up at Soldier the kid waved her little fists in the air in greeting. Drawing closer her stomach rumbled and she looked up with pleading eyes. Not noticeing the others or the body behind her, she walked up to Soldier and attached herself to its leg, seemingly falling a sleep there.

Looking up Soldier gave them a panicked look; mouthing help it inched away from the leaning child. It wasn't meant to help people, it was created to kill them; this was SOOO out of its ally.

Soldier didn't mind kids, but everyone else could deal with them better. Soldier was built to deal with rough things, it wasn't scared, it was terrified it would hurt the poor kid; or it would be if it could feel fear.

It almost cried as it was about to get out from under the kid and the child just sidestepped into its leg.

Wheels stifled a laugh and Soldier glared at him. Wheels color had returned, it could smell the relief coming of all of them, and it realized it was trapped just as efficiently as if they had it tied down. Soldier remembered when it had been as tired as this poor kid, and not knowing what her powers were it didn't dare disturb her.

It growled softly, careful not to disturb the girl. Red Eye stepped forward and every muscle in Soldier's upper body tensed, ready for whatever blow would be fall it. The others stood just as tense, ready to deliver those said blows.

John stepped before Soldier, putting his body directly between the two warring sides. Soldier was so surprised that it almost stepped back and stepped on the kid.

The child grabbed on to its leg more firmly and sniggled into it. Whimpering she looked up at Soldier and held her hands up. Clenching and unclenching her fist, obviously asking for a lift up.

Soldier bent down and lifted her up on impulse alone. It felt the each muscle in the group before it tighten further. Smiling at them over poor John's head it bared all of its sharp teeth, even as the child fell asleep and she snuggled deeper into Soldier's shoulder.

"We're going to be keeping this up all night if we don't stop now, and I have classes in the morning." John spoke, shattering the silence with a soft whisper. "Alex... We need you to come out, you're scaring all the teachers."

Soldier looked at John before shaking its head. It let out a series of grunts and growls, but no one seemed to be able to translate. "G rr Gaag's graawlg grah, ggr hgrr grr ghr'r gaa Gaag rrr grgrg grr rr garr graewlll.'

Bad Doctor had attached herself to Logan's side waiting for him to heal as he did, slowly, now she looked to Good Doctor. "Do you have any idea what it just said, Hank?"

Good Doctor, nodded his head slowly. "It said 'I am Alex's tougher part, and that I can't let Alex out until she is done grieving.' I think that means it's going to stay like this until Alex feels like coming out. So where do you think we should stick it?"

Soldier watched them all as they digested the facts. Its muscles loosening, finally letting itself relax slowly. It looked at John, he was looking at it with yet another strange look on his face.

"Well I think we should stick it in the northeast wing with the undecideds. Since it can transform into both genders or its current no gender." Wheels said lost deep in thought as he wheeled towards his room.

John looked at Good Doctor. "Alex why don't you let Hank take you there, I'll see you in the morning?" The hopeful note in his voice made it look at him nodding its head. It then handed the kid over to John.

Kevin shivered in wolf form, he had been traveling for almost a day and a half. He transformed ever so often into the human him. This was not because he couldn't hold the wolf form for to long, it was more along the lines of him feeling the loneliness much more acutely in that form so he needed to change for his sanity.

He was in New York now, and he could feel her. He could sense her, maybe a day's travel to the southeast. He paused to rest, his protesting soul screaming to go forward, toward his alpha.

Panting he sniffed around, intent on getting food, he had yet to get food, had yet to eat, yet to drink, yet to sleep. His body wanting to do those things while his soul wanted to go straight forward, not resting, eating, or anything until he died, or he was with his leader.

While he went about nurturing his body, his soul withered. He went below a tree with several squirrels chattering at him, he rested… waiting.

Alex had taught him that if he didn't move the squirrels forgot that he was there, or they thought nothing dangerous could sit still for so long. It was a double hitter, he rested while hunting.

Moving his furred jaws Kevin scooped up some snow and melted it in his mouth, repeating it several times he took care of his thirst. Resting back he waited, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling in his soul. A good three hours later Kevin woke up from his nap, snapping his jaws in the quick successions dodging left and right.

Picking up one carcass he fed, eating it bones and all in five bites. Finishing of the others in a similar fashion he picked himself up and trotted towards his feelings, it was a little past dawn but he had a long hard day ahead.

Earlier

Keith sighed, he was sitting on the porch with the rest of the Dragons sitting around him. Looking out at the sunrise he sighed again. "I wonder if Kevin's found Alex yet?" He questioned softly.

"We don't think so... maybe soon." The triplets said just as softly.

"How soon?" Keith asked never taking his eyes of the sunrise.

"We don't know that either." This time only Dan answered.

"I hope she is watching the sunrise too. She never missed one before, and it's been two. I really miss her, I've never been away from her." Keith was on the edge of tears as he finished.

David looked at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Most of us can't remember when we weren't. She's our world. We'll get her back, we need a little more time to get the necessary items. Maybe a few more sunrises, then we'll all be together again, and this will all be a bad dream."

Max leaned against Toad's cased leg with Rain's head cradled on his stomach, playing with Rain's hair, Max's own fears were slightly reassured.

All of the Dragon's present were touching in some form, all of them connected, unified against any enemy.

They all did that, they might differ in opinion, they did often in fact, but they just argued. Nothing could tear them apart. Nothing but the loss of a member could effect them at all.

Toad yawned, and winced from the pain. "We better go back to bed, I still need sleep and so do you all. At least in sleep we can't be separated." Leaning forward he motioned for someone to help him.

Hobbling along, still sore from Storm's lightning blast, Toad made his way to their mitch-matched room. All of them had had differing opinions on how to decorate so Alex had declared everyone would get an equal amount of space. The end result was a kaleidoscope of themes, colors, decorations, and wallpaper.

Everyone had also disagreed on the carpet so it was a bunch of samples squashed together. Sighing happily as one the eight Dragon's plopped into bed.

Magneto paced up and down the walls, he had been like this ever since Alex disappeared. He was glad that he wasn't incarcerated. David had made that possible.

David's illusion was so good that his old friend would be confused until he tried to mind read him, that was the only thing David couldn't do, create a real person. He could create a hologram so real that it moved the pieces in chess, and when given the command could even bleed.

'Magneto' would 'escape' in about three hours, just as planned, then he could talk with his friend without Charles realizing that he had more mutants in his brotherhood.

Magneto passed Sabertooth again, Sabertooth just stood there, staring into outer space, keeping his mind blank so that Charles couldn't pick out the location if he tried. Or at least that's what he kept telling himself.

"She'll be fine." Magneto spoke, more for his benefit then Sabertooth or Mystiques. "She will be fine, or so help me I'll kill Charles myself."

Sabertooth didn't respond, he was lost in the blackness that he had lived in before Alex came along. Alex was the light of his life, and everyone that she calls family. She is their heart, their leader in every sense of the word.

Magneto himself hadn't done half the things he wanted to because Alex asked him not to, she was impossible to say no to.

Screaming resounded of the walls as eight VERY healthy lungs screamed at once. Bolting up the three brotherhood members rushed into the Dragon's room.

All of Dragon's were huddling together, crying, screaming, hysterical. Looking at the clock Sabertooth noted that they woke up at 8:24 p.m. before he rushed over there and gathered as many of them into his arms that he could. The others doing the same he tried to calm the very lethal group.

The three in his arms still shaking moved to be released, he let them go and found the others already forming back together. "What happened? What happened to Alex?"

Toad was the one who answered. "She's in pain... lost, scared... and dieing." His voice cracked at the end.

Sabertooth let out a roar of rage, his eyes turning red, much like Alex's. He didn't move, unable to as bodies massed onto him, the shivering bodies moving for comfort not restriction. Breathing in deeply to calm his rage, his head cleared enough to ask. "She will heal right? She'll get better?" His voice sounding like that of a child Sabertooth pleaded to the group.

The triplets nodded hesitantly. "But she's scared... she's never scared... and someone is hurting her. We need her... we need her to be alright and h-h-home."

Magneto lost control as things went flying; he was their grandfather and he would NOT stand for this transgression. Turning to Mystique he nodded. "We leave first thing we can. Mystique we need to hurry this up." Looking at the deviously brilliant day he prayed for night.

Kevin paused a feeling of uneasiness washing over him. Looking at the sunrise he paused, knowing that his pack was watching it to made him feel better and he broke into a run. She was so near he could almost smell her, just a little further, a little further. After an hour or so his legs screamed for him to stop but he couldn't even if he had wanted to; he was way to close.

Kevin stopped in awe as he pulled upon a large brick building. Surrounded by an expanse of grass and with some woods in the back, it was more like a fortress.

In human form, Kevin walked around to get a better feel of where Alex was. Turning towards the side he eyed a window on the right side, two stories not too hard. He wished that he had Keith here, he could just stretch up there and they could be off. Shaking off the grief that came with that thought he sighed.

Looking down at the jeans he wore, he figured that he might need a shirt, shoes, and maybe a jacket before he could go to the front door and be presentable. The jeans were tight fitting and had a few holes in them but they were better then nothing. Looking for some kind of sign that said what kind of facility this is, he had to back up.

The front door had a plaque in front that said, 'Professor Charles Xavier's School For The Gifted'. Kevin had to read it several times in order to comprehend the writing.

_A school kidnapped Alex? Cool. _Kevin thought without much enthusiasm. Frowning he wondered why the name Charles Xavier was so familiar. Shrugging it off he would think about it later, he's a professor, Alex's with a professor.

Walking up he knocked, waiting he focused all of his energy on where Alex was.

Earlier:

Alex woke up in her head. She looked around to her inner selves; they were all heading toward the coffee shop that would open any moment. She sniffled and tried to think, she knew she couldn't hide forever, and The Dragons need her. Snide brought her a vanilla bean cream frappuccino with whip-cream, before sitting next to her and wrapping his arm around Alex.

Sipping on it she thought about everything she had to do. _First thing first. "Soldier, you can come back, I need to get breakfast then go home."_

Soldier came back even as Alex felt herself getting sucked out. Gulping her last bit to get her brain going she sighed outside.

Looking around at the room before her she let out another sigh. She opened the door and was surprised to find that everyone were congregating in the direction she smelt food. Apparently everyone woke up a little before dawn, an interesting piece of information Alex stowed in the back of her head.

As she walked with the group she suddenly saw a parting before her, someone was heading the opposite way, towards her. A very harassed looking John flanked by Blue Man, Bobby, and Feather Boy appeared. John looked like he could kill everyone, which was the reason the crowd parted with no comment.

He took one look at her and his face lit up, Alex, unaware that hers lit up just as much, smiled at him. He rushed forward unable to contain his glee that she was back to being herself. Unaware how uncomfortable she would become; John gave her a bear hug.

Blue Man, Feather Boy and Bobby cleared their collective throats. John blushed and backed away, trying to not look so embarrassed he held his hand out.

"I'm glad you're back." The reason she had 'left' came back to him, her father. "I didn't mean to make you so upset, I'm very sorry." He looked away, he could feel her pain, her suffering.

_I'm so sorry._ He repeated in her head, putting all of his emotion into it. Glad for that form of communication to be working again.

Alex sighed her loss gripping her again, pushing past it she gave him a sad smile. "I have to go back to my family John, they need me there."

John looked down, he had known her for barely three days but he couldn't think about his life before her. He looked at her. "Could you at least stay until after breakfast? So that I could..." John choked, almost letting it slip out he wanted to spend more time with her.

Her laughter stopped his floundering. She spoke to him, softly sending light waves of sensation through his head. _I can hear you. Don't worry I'll stay a little longer. But I must get back to my family. _

His relief caught them both off guard. Alex smiled and caught his hand turning towards the departing crowd. She stopped at the look on the three other faces. Her eyes shifting into a flame red, seemingly coming from hell, letting her teeth lengthen and sharpen. She stalked up to them, her movements fluid. Holding them captive with her gaze she suddenly jerked forward snapping air and letting out a growl.

Laughing silently as both the boys jerked backwards falling over themselves to get away from her. Her teeth and eyes normal she was back at John's side before either of them hit the ground. Blinking at her John smiled.

Alex looked at him, content for a little while; glad for the small reprieve from the constant things around the household she was in charge of.

John looked at the girl holding his hand, what would he do without her?

Alex walked past a window and watched for a moment as the sun went up, standing at the window, always attentive of the people around her, she frowned. "Kevin?" Looking around at the startled faces behind her she just ignored them. "Could it really be?"

Grabbing John's arm a little too hard she kept her eyes glued towards Canada and Lake Michigan. "He's coming. He's coming!" Alex turned and hugged John, dancing around with him, grabbing Blue Man to join the dance.

"Who's coming?" John asked once she let him go.

"Kevin! Kevin! My third in command, which means the others aren't far behind! My family is coming. We can go to school here..." A pause as if hesitant. "That is if The Man doesn't mind."

John stood there for a moment, _The Man?_

Alex just showed him a mind picture. "Oh Professor Xavier! We can talk to him, after breakfast. Come on, the sun rise is beautiful but we need to eat."

Alex, completely happy for the first time since she first started this whole mess, just went along. She let her mind wander surprised that she felt so comfortable around so many strange people and in a strange place. But with John right here she felt at home, the only thing that could make it more perfect was for all of her family to be here.

She grabbed a tray and looking at John, then gathered the same things he did, careful to get everything the same. John shot her speculative look but just shrugged, he started to head towards his usual table but felt her instant fear.

Seeing it through her mind's eye, he saw strange people that obviously wouldn't like him, congregating and his only friend headed towards them. Smiling at her he grabbed her hand and careful to balance the tray, led her towards the table he had originally started at. Sending her warmth, reveling in the new power he had, he tried to reassure her but still kept a protective hand on her shoulder.

Alex was reluctant… her adventurism only went so far a day. She had been doing well so far… she wasn't freaking out in a crowded room, she was without her family for a while and she wasn't passing out or running towards home, but her friendliness went up to John and The Blue Man. That was about as far as she could go… she feared change!

Alex spent the next hour on the edge of her seat, ready to bolt, not relaxing, always aware of Kevin's swift approach, and the strange people surrounding her. Unable to stand it a moment longer she shot an apologetic look towards John. Shifting into the shape of a wolf she ran dead on towards the door.

Knowing someone was already there, letting Kevin in, the subtle violence coming off him let her know, even though she was on the other side of the building that he was attacking. Letting them know he was pissed and dangerous, ready to kill to get what he wanted.

Kevin watched the door open feeling the knives slipping out of the small release on his wrists. Not waiting for the man in front of him to realize he was in danger he sprung into action. Flip kicking knocking him backwards, pressing the advantage of surprise he got in a few other hits before others rushed to the scene.

Dropping back into a fighter ready stance, he controlled his breathing and ignored his already tired muscles protest. A red beam shot out of the first man's eyes, knocking Kevin back, but burning only slightly.

Knowing how he looked he ignored their surprised looks. His hair would be tangled, falling just short of his shoulders, a midnight black like his wolf fur. His black eyes would be slightly hidden from view be waves of hair.

His well-muscled chest would be moving ever so slightly covered in a fine sheen of sweat. He was covered in small cuts and bruises, blisters on his hands dripping blood on the wood floors.

The custom made sheaves would be protecting his wrists, while holding air where his knives should be. He would look like a wild thing, and dangerous. But his age would show, 24 was still a young age, given to the fact that all of The Dragon's were going to live a-l-o-n-g time.

Moving ever so slightly so as to jog his thoughts away from their track, he made the movement threatening by raising his knives. The red head held her hands up and the knives halted in midair, he realized that she was a mutant like the other and let them go.

He charged. Once again catching them unawares, he grabbed the red headed one and used her as a shield.

"Where's Alex?" He yelled at them, jerking the woman back. "Where is she!"

Suddenly a blue wolf charged into the room. Dropping his 'shield' Kevin leapt at her, wrapping his arms around her as she wiggled in happiness. Letting out a whimper he held onto her with all his might, burrowing his head into her soft fur as he just shook.

His alpha with him, he didn't care that he was surrounded, deep in the heart of an unknown enemy, without any backup but Alex, weaponless, and tired. He knew they made one of the weirdest sights imaginable, but the had at least two mutants here so it wouldn't be too much of a shock.

Alex went completely still the same time he did, just relishing in each other's company.

"Alex?" A boy the same age as Alex by the looks of him spoke from just to the right of Kevin's side. "Alex?"

Kevin looked up, his midnight eyes locking on to the surprisingly amber eyes. He gave him a once over, noting the way he stood as if he was about to attack Kevin if he provided harm towards Alex. Smirking at the boy he shifted, wanting to curl up at his alpha's feet and be safe.

Completing the shift he rubbed the top of his head against her lower jaw. Showing his respect of her as a leader, he then turned and stood by her side, willing to fight with and for her.

The red head was staring at both of them rubbing her sore neck, Kevin now noticed that it had several cuts along it. She let out a small laugh as she seemed to think about them.

"I take it this is one of your friends or family? You have the same choice of hostage, what is it about me that screams take me I'm vulnerable?" Her voice ended sharp and she turned back to where it was she came from.

White Hair looked after Red Hair and turned as well, leaving Red Eye behind to fight them. Kevin just growled, making him even more uncomfortable. Moving towards the boy that came in, Kevin snarled, showing his sharp white teeth.

Alex suddenly nipped him on the shoulder, playfully, yet with an underlying meaning. He was not to touch this boy. Stopping his advance Kevin showed a wolfy grin then moved back.

Alex was overflowing with joy! Very little could make this day any better! Shifting shape back into her natural form, Alex sighed in relief.

Dropping her hand to rest on Kevin's head in companionship, she smiled a nervous smile towards John. Lifting her hand he grasped it, "John this is Kevin, my third in command. One of the members in my family. Kevin this is John, my..." Alex stopped grasping for a word. _Boyfriend,_ whispered a part of her. "Friend." She finished embarrassed.

_Not boyfriend, I can't have a boyfriend, what of the Dragon's? They have a problem being away from me, we would never have any... 'alone' time. Plus can't you just see them all running down any would be suitors and tearing them up?_ She reminded Innocent and the others.

She could smell the joy coming off John and the disbelief coming from Kevin. Looking down at his bleak expression, Alex guessed that he didn't want to change shape, but he was about to, to meet Alex's friend properly.

Patting him, letting him know that he had permission to stay like that she grinned. Only to have it turn into a wince as John's friends appeared.

She learned that the muscled boy with the wings was known as Warren, or Feather Boy; a winged mutant that held much the same characteristics as a normal bird would. She knew Jubilee and Kitty were the two UFE's (Unidentified Female Explosions). Finding out their mutations without having to reveal all of hers was a challenge, but she managed with a little bit of growling and shape shifting similar to the one in which she used to frighten Bobby and Warren.

They approached even as All-American tried to keep them back from the 'unstable strange mutant', Alex tensed crushing Kevin's fur in one hand and John's hand in the other. Wrinkling her nose she scoffed at All-American. "Like they ever listened to you."

She gathered her strength from her protectors she faced the reddening man before she turned to Kevin. "Kevin I... need... to talk to you."

Kevin sat down and stared up at her, waiting for the news. She moved restlessly. "Let's go some where... more... private." Conscious of the gathering crowd of gossiping students.

She started off in the direction of a room that she knew no one was in, Kevin moving behind her, nervous, confused, and a little worried, still holding John's hand in a death grip.

By the time that they reached the door Kevin was a nervous muddle, unable to stand it the moment that Alex closed the door behind them he shifted. "What is it Alex? What's the matter? Do we need to leave? Did some one hurt you? Who? I'll kill 'em!" He was ranting and didn't seem to know it.

"No it's not like that." Alex replied meekly. "It's about dad... and this place... and Logan. Dad's dead."

Kevin looked at her in shock. "WHEN? Oh my god. Oh my God. Oh My God." He chanted under his breath pacing.

Alex walked up to the taller man and wrapped her arms around him. John didn't expect the jealousy to emerge but it did. Rearing its ugly head at this 'Kevin'. _Down Boy, their family... family._

_They don't _look_ like family_. Snarled the jealousy at him. _How naive are you?_

Alex held on to Kevin. "Three days ago, a little while after we left for the mall." She replied, scolding herself for the tears she felt tickling behind her eyes. Kevin pulled back abruptly.

"Impossible, we ran into him the next morning, and I assume that he is with the others." Kevin stated relief evident in his voice and the way his muscles relaxed beneath her arms.

"Really?" Her voice broke and she let the tears fall, happy that she was not in a crowded room at the moment. She just clung to the panicking Kevin and cried in relief.

"He's alright Alex, he's alright." Kevin repeated hugging his leader to him, his nose in her hair. She shook in his arms and he didn't let his fear of crying girls override his need to help his leader.

He looked up at John and stared at him. Blaming him with his eyes for Alex's distress, "Why would you think he was dead?" The question was to John.

"We saw a man that fit the description get decapitated when we first saw Alex, I thought about it and she picked it out of my brain." John replied getting a bit defensive.

"Alex can't do that except for with the Dragon's, it's not part of her mutant abilities." Kevin replied adding a bit of rancor in his voice.

"Alex can hear ya'll just fine you know, and she doesn't like being stuck out of the conversation. Maybe we should include her you think?" Alex growled from her position of buriedness. Her head still on Kevin's chest, her arms wrapped around his naked back.

She sounded annoyed but she was glad that they were bantering lightly and knew that Kevin was accepting John into the fold. Looking over at the jealous John she unattached herself from Kevin and held onto John.

From the growl Kevin emanated he didn't like that.

Laughing she smiled up at John. "See, I can't make anyone happy."

John looked down at her and her heart did a little flip, smirking he whispered in her ear. "You make me happy."

Alex almost died on hearing those words. She looked at him, really looked.

His hair was slightly mused, but gorgeous in shaggy blond way, she always like hair that was long but not too long, and shaggy just below the ear length was just right on him. His body was slightly muscular without his arms being colossal. His shirt was stretched over his nice bod and led to tight jeans that she knew would cup his tight butt. She looked at his eyes and she seemed to fall forward, they were happy and bright, but she knew from the slight darkness in the center that he had seen more then he should have.

Thinking back on the last three days she realized how out of character she had been acting. She let a complete stranger into her life and once she did that she never completely let go, it was in her nature. Realizing how weird this was, she thought maybe she should take this slower, but all of her inner selves argued.

Being lost in thought she hadn't realized that all conversation had stopped. She had closed herself off unintentionally and John was worried. He spoke softly, sending goosebumps winging down her spine and arms. "_Where are you?"_

_I'm here, and I'm fine just got lost in thought. _She smiled in reassurance up at him.

Kevin looked at them both and cleared his throat. "Um. Alex? What are we gonna do?"

"Going to do." Alex corrected; she always corrected them and made them fix the words when they used slang unless she herself was to stressed to notice. She had a feeling that that was a test, to see how stressed she was.

"Fine. What are we _going to_ do? Should we wait for the others in case they're on the way… or should we leave now and hope they aren't? Do we have to fight our way out? If so do you think we could win or wait for reinforcements?"

Alex looked at him and thought. Considering the options, the pros and cons, she listened to Thinker for once. "We should wait, so that hopefully we can avoid blood shed." She paused casting her senses out, and came back surprised. "Where are they others? I can't find them."

She watched Kevin. "You didn't come alone? Did you?"

Kevin looked down, he had broken a rule, he was in troouublllle! Avoiding eye contact he stared at his feet.

"Kevin Johnson Dragon! TELL me you did not do what I think you did! You KNOW better then to go gallivanting off without a member! What if you had collapsed! What if you had been discovered? What if you went MAD?" She mumbled curses under her breath, pushing away from John she began to pace her eyes flashing slightly.

Kevin continued to look at his feet knowing that Alex was upset with him. He loved her like a mother or sister, if ANYONE else had been pacing he would have dazed out. Another had hit him he wouldn't have felt it. Inside he would be humming waiting for whom ever was angry to be done.

But as Alex paced and mumbled he felt each word, and it was worse then any physical blow, his spirit shrank back. Alex never hit any of them outside of the training circle and their first battle, she threatened, she cursed, but she NEVER hit.

John watched as the muscular man in front of him wilted, he seemed to cave in on himself as Alex mumbled curses. He watched the spectacle before him and wondered at it. After a minute he couldn't hold in the laughter and found himself on the ground.

Alex stopped at stared at him as if he had lost it, Kevin moved slightly in front of her as if to protect her from the crazy laughing boy. John tried to tell them what was so funny but couldn't catch his breath, his face was turning purple and he was pounding the ground before his friends came into see what was the matter.

John found it didn't help his hysterical moment as Kevin moved to protect Alex from both him and all the kids outside the door. A thousand eyes peeked out from the door, a few heads prodded through the walls, and even a pair of eyes floated into the room but no one seemed to want to come in.

He tried to get himself under control and managed at least to breath between bursts of laughter.

Kevin looked as if he could kill all of them if they came any nearer while Alex was trying to see over his shoulder, hopping up and down to try and see all of the new people. The contrast from just a few moments ago sent him back over the edge.

Alex finally finished taking in all the new smells and people logging them away she turned to the man lying on the floor curled up both hands _trying_ to stifle his laughter.

_What's so funny?_ She asked.

John couldn't even answer in his head so he showed her first the picture of Kevin looking sheepish while she paced then of her jumping over his shoulder as Kevin had a killing look. She felt the laughter bubbling up, and started to laugh as well.

Kevin stared at Alex as she fought to get herself under control; John seemed to be calming as well. Alex recovered first, probably do to training, but every once and a while she would crack a smile, John finally got himself under control as the crowd parted and let Professor Charles Xavier in.

In the face of all of the new faces Alex had done well, but at the sight of The Man she freaked. John had stood up and moved closer to Kevin and Alex retreated into them. She stepped between both of them her arms brushing theirs and she relaxed slightly.

The Professor rolled forward the teachers coming in behind him. They shut the door, after shooing the flying eyes out and pushing the other kids to the other side. Alex tensed again and inched towards the window.

Kevin didn't like seeing Alex nervous and found that a growl rumbled in his throat. By the way his hands and jaw hurt suddenly he knew that his fingernails were sharp claws now and that his teeth were fangs.

Alex put her hand lightly on his arm and he calmed considerably. She nodded slightly to The Man.

Charles looked over at the man on Alex's right. He seemed to be in his early twenties his hair was in slight disarray, his torso had scars from all manner of things. The Professor found a swell of pity for this poor creature in front of him. His gaze went to the young mans hair and he noticed it was black. He went over the description of Alex's father and frowned.

Could she have lied about his hair color to confuse them? But why would she have reacted that way about the memory that John had shown her?

Deciding against probing Alex's mind he asked a loud. "Are you Alex's father?"

Kevin looked at the man that seemed to be in charge, the very idea that he was Alex's father? A smile broke out but he cooled it immediately. "No I'm her…" He looked at Alex. What could he say?

_Brother_? She was more like a mom, so he couldn't call her that_. Friend_? No, that didn't fit well. _Son?_ That work best. The word Pack mate wouldn't describe it well to non-members. Son. That'd work.

Turning back to the man he realized that everyone was staring at him. "I'm her son… sorta."

Alex smiled at him from his shoulder/side. "Close enough." She granted her approval, and they looked at the twenty or so adults behind The Man.

Charles looked at them doubtfully but he held his hand out. "My name is Professor Charles Xavier, this is my school for gifted youngsters. Welcome, though I may say I didn't know Alex's mutation include time traveling or advanced aging or…"

Alex held her hand up. "Just stop." She smiled then laughed at the very idea.

Kevin looked at her. "You're laughing." He smiled down at her. "You hardly ever laugh."

She cooled her expression before standing on her tippy-toes and whispering. "Don't tell the others."

Kevin looked back at teachers. "She's not my biological mother. She's the one that counts."

"Yeah who could ask for more in a son? He already came potty trained! Well… mostly potty trained." Alex joked while Kevin turned red. "We had to teach him not to…" Kevin clamped his hands on her mouth to stifle the sound.

The Professor watched them before speaking. "Well Alex you wanted to talk to me?"

Alex's face went expressionless she stiffened. "Yes I did… Professor? I wanted to ask you a few questions."

The Man smiled, a thin tight-lipped smile, but a smile. "Well then would you like to step into my office, alone?"

Alex looked at Kevin, and nodded to him to tell let him know it was all right, though Kevin still looked upset.

Alex stepped from between Kevin and John, and walked towards The Man. Outside she was a calm and tranquil; inside she was nervous and scared stiff, and Kevin and John knew it.

The teachers started to stream out and The Professor wheeled out once they were gone. With Alex following slowly out of arm reach.

Kevin and John looked at each other then with a sniff Kevin started to circle John, who looked at him with shock.

Kevin snorted once he went all the way around John once. "Don't see wha' she sees in y'." He retorted with an accent.

John looked at him before frowning. "You didn't have an accent before…"

Kevin looked at him. "No… Alex doesn't like it when we don' talk, proper. But I'm too tired to think about i'. Th' words I mean."

Kevin coughed as if that would knock the words right.

"Why are you so tired?" John asked while Kevin looked around the room for the first time.

Kevin yipped in glee upon seeing a chair that looked comfortable. He transformed and jumped on it settling down to rest in wolf form. He yawned nervously for a moment, the seemed to fall a sleep, after a moment John sat down on the seat across from him.

To all outside appearances Kevin was asleep, but after a few minutes he shifted. Settling down again he sighed, every thirty seconds he would shift and settle down again. After maybe five minutes he sighed and opened his eyes.

He jumped off his seat and transformed into a slightly crumpled him. "Well I need to grab Alex."

"Why?" John asked hoping he would answer as Kevin reached the door.

"I need to sleep with her to settle down." He replied distractedly as he ducked out of the room and headed towards The Professors room.

John stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the door. "…?" Following Kevin, John stumbled down the hall.

Kevin walked into The Professors room to see that neither one of them looked like they had talked. "Um… Alex? I need to rest… cause I traveled from the place were you were abducted to here and didn't sleep much." He blushed embarrassed. Knowing she would know the reason he can't sleep now or as well before was because they all needed to sleep next to someone… for comfort reasons.

"I'll show you… If it's all right with you, Professor?" Alex asked the last part in a tone that said that she didn't like asking for things.

"Sure. You know where your room is and the boy's dormitory is in the west wing, to the right of it. Not far at all…" Kevin looked at him before looking down and blushing.

John got over his shock to say in a slightly jealous manor. "He's going to sleep with her!"

Alex looked at John catching the jealousy and hurt. _John what's the matter? We all sleep together. It helps us stay in sync and not bicker over huge things_.

"That will not be done. This is a school and I am certain that you understand that those types of things don't happen at schools." Professor spoke in a tone that broke no argument.

"Eww. Gross! No offence Kevin."

"I'm right there with you, Alex. 'Sides we did say SLEEP…"

"Besides." Alex corrected automatically.

The professor sighed thinking that he can't seem to do anything right with this new girl. "Right then. Lunch will be served at 12:00 and dinner at 5:00, please be awake by at least one. Now if you excuse me I have I student that needed help on some homework." He waved them out.

Alex grabbed both men's arms and dragged them out. "I'll see you later John? I'm a bit tired and I can feel Kevin's exhaustion." On the spur of the moment she kissed him slightly on the cheek before transforming and dodging up the stairs.

Kevin stared at John for a moment. Before smirking. "You know if you hurt her I will kill you, and the Dragons will feast on your remains." With that he transformed and chased after her.

John stared after them.

"JOHN!"

John turned to see Bobby Drake, his best friend in the world and smiled. "BOBBY!" He shouted back before running over at his friend's hand gesture.

"What's up?" John asked, his earlier melancholy gone.

"Nothing, but the guys wanta play basketball and we're short one player. Wanna play?" It was common for there to be an uneven amount so John just smiled and told Bobby that he'd race him.

He took off with a final thought towards the girl upstairs.

Sabertooth was going to shred something. All this sitting was making him antsy… but he knew that this was the only way to get through customs and rescue Alex right was to wait.

"I hate waiting." Sabertooth growled. He sighed and moved towards the woods. As he walked out of the house he saw the dragons. He walked over to them.

Rain was watching the sky, as if he could fly away and find Alex. Max sat beside him, his arms wrapped tightly around himself. Keith was sitting in what they called 'shut down mode' he wasn't responding, staring a head; barely breathing. The triplets were all sitting around each other, hovering above the ground, their white clothing, hair, skin, and eyes gave him a chill.

The picture the Dragons painted was depressing and heartrending. Deciding to lift their spirits a bit he called over to them.

"Hey, I need some help." That got their attention, even Keith looked up turning back 'on'. He had a sinking feeling that if he asked them to help him do the dishes, laundry, clean, eat poo, that they would do it and welcome the distraction that it would provide.

"We need to figure out what it is we're going to do with the town that ran Alex out." Sabertooth said, knowing that some killing and mauling would lighten the mood.

The Dragons looked at each other and smiled. A predatory show of teeth. Hopping up they all piled into the back of the truck that had given them a ride back from the mall parking lot. Toad grumbled but the others helped him and in a few minutes they all settled down.

Sliding into the front he once again asked what they were going to do. Various forms of torture came from the back, all of them having experience in the field.

"Don't forget that we can't kill the 'innocent' norms. The ones that chased Alex only." Keith piped from the bed. "She'll be mad at us if we kill the others."

All of the Dragons nodded sagely at that piece of advice.

"Soooo… how do we decide which are the innocent and which are the bad ones?" Rain asked from his position in the back.

"Well… we can go back to the body and sniff around a bit… who ever was there is bad. And we all can pick out the ones we want." Max suggested.

"Who's going to move the body… it's got to be all decayed and stuff… Ewww." Sabertooth pointed out. "NOT IT!"

"Not it."

"Not it."

"Not it."

"Not it." Said the triplets.

"Not it."

"Damn! Not fair I wasn't ready." Whimpered Keith.

All of them smiled at him not at all perturbed or moved. As they pulled into the field they piled out and stood back holding their noses as Keith, gagging, moved forward and kicked the unrecognizable head towards the trees, it's eyes gone,. He then moved towards the half eaten body, intestines spread around. They as one whispered the Latin prayer that Alex insisted they learn and use when handling the dead or killing. Keith moved the body over towards the head.

"Shouldn't we like… notify the family or somethin?" Toad asked leaning on his crutches.

"Alex'd like that." The triplets smiled.

"How do you suppose we find them? Sniff them out as well?" David asked.

"Great idea. Dad would you do the honors?" Max asked smirking at the felinoid. "You are the only one who's got the… how do you say… nose for the job of all this sniffing and tracking."

"Nothin you can say against that logic." Rain laughed while the others nodded emphatically.

Sabertooth wrinkled his nose before setting about sniffing out the perpetrators mumbling about the horrible smell. Memorizing the smells of the perps then the unfortunate man who took his place.

"We'll notify the family first, then kill the perps." Sabertooth suggested looking to David as the leader of the group.

"Cool… I guess. We owe them a favor so I guess we'll mention that to them. That'll make Alex real happy." Keith suggested as he backed as far away from the now almost peaceful decapitated body.

They all nodded sagely at that though they looked mighty strained at the idea of owing anyone a favor.

"Now let's go." Sabertooth cheered. They all gathered around and forming a standard movement pattern headed towards the town.

Forming a sorta arrow with Sabertooth at the head, controlling the movement, they made good time and reached the town in an hour. Sabertooth and the gang skirted the town's edge. Moving near the small gas station he sniffed about and found a small house that seemed to be the man's at one point of time. It was dark out by now and they snuck towards the door. Forming a small group at the door the triplets and Toad moved to where they couldn't be seen.

The house was small one floor thing that looked like something that belongs in a movie. The Dragons sighed, thinking as one and wishing for a normal life. Sabertooth reached up and rang the doorbell, wincing at the loud noise.

The hair on the back of Sabertooth's neck stood straight up as a new smell caught his nose, he quickly catalogued the small of a women and two small babies. Cross-referencing all the new smells with the old ones and stiffened when a smell connected.

He smiled when the smell grew stronger. Apparently the smell maker was visiting. When the door opened he reached past the women and wrapped his hand around the man behind her. Tossing him back he moved forward and with one look told the women not to scream.

The kids coming from behind and looking around for a minute reached for him as he reached for the man again.

"Sabertooth you aren't going to thank this nice women by splashing blood all over her floor!" Keith said rolling his eyes. "Take him outback and do it."

Sabertooth grinned with feral amusement before reaching and lifting the young man up. Now he noticed the uniform of a Canadian Mountie. "Well, well look what we have here, boys and girls a mutie hating cop, what a shock."

The Dragons laughed and elbowed each other.

"Sabertooth maybe we should explain to Mrs…." Rain looked at the terrified women in the corner who looked like she was going to have a heart attack.

Sabertooth shoved the man into a chair and took a breath to calm down. The inside was as homey as the outside. He looked like her as well.

"Joews." She said softly.

"Mrs. Joews why we are here and maybe not look so intimidating." Max smiled at Rain's logical thinking as he continued with his sentence.

Sabertooth glared and growled but forced the Mountie to sit down in a chair instead of taking him outback. He nodded to David who took center stage.

"Well Mrs. Joews my name is David. This is Rain and Max, Keith is the small one, the triplets are Dan, Lacy, and Nick, the one in the cast is Toad, and the man with the bright personality is Sabertooth and we actually didn't come here to hurt you or cause you any distress." David tried to smile reassuringly at the terrified Mrs. Joews but to no avail.

Suddenly babies started to scream in the background, all of the Dragons looked at each other. The mother looked even more terrified, this time probably for her babies. "Um… Mrs. Joews? Can I please know where the nursery is?" Max asked.

"Why?" She asked in a small voice.

"Well I'm sure you noticed they are crying…"

"Max leave her be, hon. She doesn't need all this pressure! Let's see who we can find." Rain once again pointed out the poor women's state. They scurried out of the room and in a few moments the babies quieted back down.

"Toad, could you please take Mr…." Saber tooth leaned forward and smirked at the Mountie's fear spiked. Making him slightly heady. "Ross outback? We'll be there to deal with him in a minute." Sabertooth said his voice telling of the pain Mr. Ross was going to feel once they got outback. "Mrs. Joews would you please take a seat… this is going to be hard."

Mrs. Joews looked close to tears and sat at the edge of her seat watching as Ross was taken outback. "Please don't hurt him or my babies!" She whispered. The tears threatening to fall.

"Miss, you might want to take that back in a moment. As you might have guessed we are mutants. A couple of days ago I went to take my daughter shopping here. Somehow she was discovered and we had to run." He could see the awareness creeping into her eyes. "Well at one point of time I out maneuvered them and they must have found you husband…"

Mrs. Joews looked shocked for a split second before launching herself at Sabertooth beating at him with her fists screaming NO! "He's dead." Sabertooth told her as she beat at him. "He unknowingly gave his life for mine."

It took longer then they had thought to finally get her to calm down. Keith made some coffee in a small kitchen that connected into the living room. Giving it to her he asked if she felt better, all he got was silence.

She was now sitting on a red chair that she had pulled from her table to sit on, she had a faraway look in her eyes like she didn't know what to do. "Mrs. Joews…" Sabertooth started.

"Alice. Call me Alice." She whispered dispassionately still staring at the fascinating spot on the wall.

"Alice we came here not only because we wanted to thank you and notify you… but to see if somehow we could help. We owe you and if you ever need anything we're there." Keith piped up.

"Then I ask for you to not hurt Officer Ross. He came here to tell me personally that my… sob husband's snifflerescue party is going to leave t-t-tomorrow and that he will be heading them u-u-up." Alice Joews said her eyes brimming again.

Sabertooth snorted. "Fine if you want to save that sadistic son of a bitch then fine we got other people to kill…"

"W-w-what do you mean sadistic?" Alice asked as Sabertooth and the rest were about to call to Toad to let the jerk go.

"He's the one that killed your husband… and by his smell he knew it doing it and coming here. He got off on your pain." Sabertooth said his eyes telling her nothing at all.

Cliffy!

I finally updated and I hope to do it at least once every two weeks BUT DON'T QUOTE ME ON IT!

What will Alice do? What will John do? What would you do…? PLEASE UPDATE! Reviews will make me update so do and I will hehehe!

Toodles


	5. Chapter 5

Last Time:

Mrs. Joews looked close to tears and sat at the edge of her seat watching as Ross was taken outback. "Please don't hurt him or my babies!" She whispered. The tears threatening to spill over the precarious damn she had erected.

"Miss, you might want to take that back in a moment. As you might have guessed we are mutants. A couple of days ago I went to take my daughter shopping here. Somehow she was discovered and we had to run." He could see the awareness creeping into her eyes. "Well at one point of time I outmaneuvered them and they must have found you husband…"

Mrs. Joews looked shocked for a split second before launching herself at Sabertooth beating at him with her fists screaming NO!

"He's dead." Sabertooth told her as she beat at him. "He unknowingly gave his life for mine."

It took longer then they had thought to finally get her to calm down. Keith made some coffee in a small kitchen that connected into the living room. Giving it to her he asked if she felt better, all he got was silence.

She was now sitting on a red chair that she had pulled from her table to sit on; she had a faraway look in her eyes like she didn't know what to do. "Mrs. Joews…" Sabertooth started.

"Alice. Call me Alice." She whispered dispassionately still staring at the fascinating spot on the wall.

"Alice we came here not only because we wanted to thank you and notify you… but to see if somehow we could help. We owe you and if you ever need anything we're there." Keith piped up.

"Then I ask for you to not hurt Officer Ross. He came here to tell me personally that my… sob husband's sniffle rescue party is going to leave t-t-tomorrow and that he will be heading them u-u-up." Alice Joews said her eyes brimming again.

Sabertooth snorted. "Fine if you want to save that sadistic son of a bitch then fine we got other people to kill…"

"W-w-what do you mean sadistic?" Alice asked as Sabertooth and the rest were about to call to Toad to let the jerk go.

"He's the one that killed your husband… and by his smell he knew it doing it and coming here. He got off on your pain." Sabertooth said his eyes telling her nothing at all.

Now:

She looked outside at the officer. He looked pitiful she supposed, but she no longer felt pity for him, or anyone. "Kill him, kill everyone who knew… make them suffer." She rasped out, the anger she felt from his victimizing her and her children let her say it with no guilt.

Smiling the Dragons all headed out. There was a bit of arguing over who could kill him and in the end Max won the privilege by fighting Keith for it. Smiling he looked up at the sky and reached out with his mind for the electric currents in the air, he had to travel for a bit but he found it. Waiting to strike something, he tugged it and it traveled pulsing threw him and around him, branching out it hit him and the officer; hitting with such force and power that the others felt the heat from it. They all winced as the noise defended them.

Max ignored them all, feeding off of the lightning, soaking it up; his dreadlocks glowed and went all staticie. The normal human died almost instantly and he could feel the electricity's confusion at the mess. He began to soak it up and laugh. Feeling almost high but also knowing that all the other town members must have heard the noise and he hoped he was out of view.

Max smiled as the glow died down leaving everyone momentarily blind. "See, no mess. Norms leave a mess but we know better." Keith smiled at Max's comment. The night crickets were silent, as was everything else, for a few minutes after the lightning and now they seem to be gossiping about what happened.

Alice stared at the ashes of the old family friend and couldn't muster even a fleeting sadness of regret. She couldn't as thoughts of her and baby twins' future. The tall blond with large black eyes in furs looked at her.

He cocked his head at her. "What?"

His question startled her. "What do you mean what?"

"Why are you so sad…? Don't tell me you feel sorry for this asshole!"

"NO! NEVER!" She snapped with force; forgetting for a moment what they are. "It's just… what am I going to do? You're going to kill everyone so there'll be none here for work… the law'll come around and then I'll have some explaining to do about why I'm one of the few people still here. What am I going to do for work and still be able to take care of the babies?" She sighed and tried to figure out what to do.

"You can live with us… We don't mind, at least until Alex says one way or the other we can give you room and board…" The triplets said at once looking thoughtful. "That way we can get some help around the house… Alex's been complaining about the case load she's got and we got tons of stuff to do too."

"This is great!" Max shouted unable to regulate his voice do to his high. "We got a two for one deal. WAHOO! This is great!"

"Max… calm down!" Rain snapped, angry because his ears were still ringing and his boyfriend was making it worse.

"Sorry." Max whispered in an excited stage whisper. "But like I was saying, we could have someone to help around; we could pay you Miss Alice. We could even help you with the babies. Me and Rain we love kids. We'll watch 'em and it'll all be good. If Alex says you can't stay we'll set you up for a new job. Sound good to you?"

Alice looked at the scary youth who had been struck by lightning. There was no physical appearance of his mutation.

He was well built with skin so dark when he smiled the contrast was almost eye hurting. His hair was in long dreads and fell to his shoulders, he was quite tall. He dressed in blue jeans and a tight black shirt. His green eyes were the only thing remarkable about him, but they had to be contacts. The over all effect was amazing though and she imagined that he'd be a heartbreaker if he weren't so obviously devoted to his boyfriend, but a very normal teen.

His boyfriend was almost exactly the opposite. Skin that no amount of sun will ever darken with shaggy electric blue hair that wasn't natural but probably died. He dressed like a Goth with verious piercings that made her wince. A dragon tattoo covered one side of his neck clawing towards his jugular and must have hurt like hell. The most striking feature was his eyes though, purple fire. The only thing he had in common with his boyfriend was his height, they were both almost the same height.

Keith suddenly giggled. "Alex will kill you when she finds out that you are cutting you words like that."

Alice looked at him and then caught a glimmer from a jack in the back of his head. She looked at him, stiffening a scream, really looked at him. He was young so incredibly young. "How old are you?"

"13, I don't have any powers but a stretchy thing." Keith said. He grabbed a tree branch and started walking away his arm stretched and he walked around to another tree and back to the original tree. His arm now stretched the entire length. He smiled at her and let go. His arm whipped around scratching on the bark and leaving a long scratch on his arm. Other then that he was fine. The others laughed at him and told him that was what he got for showing off.

She looked at each in turn.

"15, we are psychics. And DANG strong ones at that." The three pale children stated. Nick, Lacy, and Dan.

"19, power over water." Rain, the blue haired mutant smiled.

"20; bet you can't guess mine!" That was Max.

"24; illusionist, second in command." David the apparent leader of the children smirked at her.

"27, frog-like powers consist of sticky mucus, long tongue, jumping REALLY far, green hair and skin." Toad the injured man winced as he tried to wave and put to much weight on his injured leg.

"Sabertooth, but the rest is none of your business, but my daughter Alex, the leader of this small group is 17 and Kevin third in command is 25. They aren't here right now." Sabertooth the father figure grunted. "So now that you got a background on all of us you coming or what?"

"Yeah I think that would be great just let me grab my stuff." Alice said willing to just go with the flow.

"We got to finish our business. We'll pick you up in an hour." Max said, reminding her that they came here to kill the town where she grew up. She felt sadness at the waist of human life, but couldn't feel more. _They knew. They knew it was him and they killed him. Or at least most of them knew when he showed up missing._

"Okay."

They smiled squeezed her hand and headed off with a calm swagger that told her they didn't care they were about to kill a hundred or more people.

David smirked as he came across a car. Jumping in front the man and women behind the wheel screamed and slammed on the brakes. He looked over at Sabertooth as the man came out of the car shouting.

"What the FUCK do you think you're doin'!"

Sabertooth nodded and before the man could react David kicked him backwards making him plop on his butt. David walked over and kicked the side of his head a sickening snap could be heard and the women screamed. Toad smiled and green goo covered her mouth and nose and they ignored her and continued walking as she suffocated. Sabertooth continued on nodding and shaking his head and watched as his children killed. He sighed at the ease with which they did it.

They even went into the school. They didn't kill any kids but they did some teachers. Male and female, young and old. They killed indiscriminately. No hesitation. The children would probably be scared from the blitz attack that seemingly came from nowhere. In one instance his children had stood in the middle of the class, kids curled in a corner, and they calmly stood there arguing over who would get to kill the perp. Now they were arguing again… this time in a home though.

"But you killed the last threeeeeee!" Whined Rain at Keith.

"But I haven't gotten to kill any in like 15 minutes. I'm burning here with the extra power!" Max snapped.

"David who should get to kill her?" The triplets asked the mutant in charge.

"Please leave her alone!" The husband pleaded for his wife. "Take me!"

"Nope you're staying put." Toad manhandled back to the floor. "You aren't guilty she is."

"BUT I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING!" The women cried out.

"Mr. Joews… you were there and knew it was him and not dad that they killed. You allowed him to die. You are soooo guilty!" Snapped Keith.

He looked at her with horror. "JIM! You KILLED Jim!"

"NO!" She cried in denial.

"But you knew it was him!" Keith snarled.

"That is it." Max smirked as she burst into flame as he hit her with 1000 volts. "That's better."

"MAX!' Rain shouted as he made it rain inside to douse flames that were engulfing the couch. "Warn me, baby, before you do that!"

"Sorry." Max replied weakly with a smile. "But we are almost late to pick up Alice."

The man whimpered from his position from the floor. "Okay goodbye have a nice life. Tell everyone that we are the avengers. We will let no bad deed go unpunished." snort of laughter "No injustice… HEY that is not fair!" The triplets laughed as the rest of the Dragons burst into laughter. "You know what we mean..."

They turned and the Dragons left the man to mourn his wife and his friend. "How many do we have left?" Rain asked wanting to get his fair share in.

"5, I think they live over there…" Sabertooth said sniffing around and trying to discern the whereabouts of the perpetrators.

"I CALL THEM!" Rain shouted as he grew excited at the idea of 5 kills.

There were grumbles but they allowed him to kill the perps in this case. They allowed him to go off by himself though he was known to get carried away, finally he came trotting back but covered in blood. His power didn't kill without a lot of power and water, so he had to do it messily that's why he didn't get to kill till near the end.

"Look at you!" Max said in a saddened tone. "You aren't snuggling with me till you take a shower with soap and everything."

"Oh… That's not fair! I'm not built for snapping necks! I gotta use a knife." Rain whined at his boyfriend.

The other Dragons smirked as Rain followed Max trying to get him to recant. But Max just smiled and danced out of the water wielders grasp.

Alice watched them approach, her children still asleep in a stroller and all their worldly possessions beside them. She looked at the small suitcase of the things that her husband owned that she wanted the twins to have. Her sons' will now grow without a father figure in their little lives. She felt tears well up but smiled a sad smile.

She watched as the two boys approached and frowned at the joking they did, especially once she noticed that one of them was covered in blood. _How can children so young be so heartless?_

She watched as the others appeared and they all approached in a more conserved walk. The two boys leaned over her two, the bloody one being careful not to drip. She watched them warily but they made cooing noises and smiled in a soft way at the baby boys. The others finally caught up to the two boys. The man that wore her husband's body but not his face walked up and grabbed two of the bags full of baby clothes. The other children scrambled to pick up the other bags and boxes.

Once everyone had something the headed towards the woods. Alice worried for a minute or two when they were in the woods and didn't seem to be stopping any time soon. Sabertooth looked over his shoulder at her catching the smell of fear. The two baby boys were being pushed carefully by Rain and Max, but other then them the others had begun to notice her nervousness.

"Don't worry," Keith reassured. "We'll be to the truck in 15 min at the rate we're going."

"Night's falling." Dan said his voice sounding strange when his sisters didn't accompany it. "You need to add to the account that we need to slow down… not everyone in our company can see in the dark, and Toad can't move as fast in his casts."

"Of course stupid me… 30 minutes then. Unless we go faster…" Keith looked up thoughtfully. "Hey Mrs. Alice, do you mind if we go faster?"

Alice looked at him warily and now they all stopped to look at her. "Sure, I don't have a problem with that."

Rain smiled and put his arm lightly on her arm careful of the blood soaking his shirt front. "This is going to be scary but don't look down okay."

"Wha…?" Alice didn't have time to react as the group of mutants huddled together minus the triplets, the luggage scattered around at their feet. Then suddenly ALL of them were flying bags, stroller, and all.

"OH SHIT!" She screamed. Alice clung to the nearest person; Sabertooth she guessed from the way his body felt. She buried her face into his chest and waited to feel the ground once again.

She felt like someone had grabbed around the waist when they first took off and now she almost felt as if she was standing on something. She kept her eyes closed tightly enough to block out the sight of ever darkening treetops winging past, but felt the 'ground' beneath her feet. It was almost squishy and she moved her feet around a little, it felt like the whole area around her was the same. The others around her didn't feel as if they were as tense as she knew she was.

Taking a quick peek down she instantly regretted it and pushed down nausea. The sky was a dark blue teal allowing her to see the trees and clouds. "Epp!" She let out another undignified squeak burying even deeper into Sabertooth's chest.

The chest she clung to rumbled as Sabertooth laughed and she found the courage to look up and glare at his smiling face. Even so she didn't try to shrug off the arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Maybe we should just float for a moment, huh dad? You and Miss Alice are looking a little cozy." The triplets snickered and Alice snapped to the present and the muffled snickers around her. Sabertooth chest rumbled again this time with a menacing growl.

Blushing to her hair roots, she jumped away forgetting she was in midair. "OH SHIT!" She screamed as she plummeted. "Ouf." She gasped as the 'hand' once again caught her.

"Watch it!" Snapped Keith at the triplets. "You'll hurt her!"

"We didn't tell her to jump off the Dell!" The triplets protested at his accusatory tone. "And we didn't have time to be gentle. Good thing we are almost there huh?"

"Um, could you put me down or at least right-side up? I'm getting a headache." Alice asked in a soft strained voice.

The triplets smiled and the others giggled as they complied and allowed Alice to softly land on her feet. "'Ppreciate it." She said sarcastically but the triplets smirked and said, "You're welcome."

Alice felt a since of foreboding as they paused by the truck and Sabertooth growled… looking at all of the mutants smacking their heads and mumbling to them selves she started to feel decidedly nervous.

"What is it?" She asked; all comfort she had started to feel in their presence completely forgotten.

"We were stupid is al." Growled David, glaring at the truck as it had committed some personal crime against him. "We didn't consider how you and the babies would change the seating arrangements and we're now considering how best to fit everyone in the car…"

"Oh." She said relief flooding her. _What you think they were going to do? Eat you? With all the blood covering them even now it's a possibility._ Alice retorted but feeling guilty about thinking ill from people who are giving her a new life after her friends destroyed the old one.

"Well…" Keith said. "Mrs. Alice can you drive?" Sabertooth's eyes went wide and he started to shake his head.

"No way." He said. "No way is she driving mah truck." Growling he moved protectively between the truck and small woman, as though to protect the truck from her. "This is a Ford F-350 Super Duty! With extended bed and black leather seats in the cab, cushions on the bed floor for ya'll with plastic coverings so that rain or blood doesn't ruin them! What if she wrecks it?" His eyes had gone wide and something akin to terror had entered them as well.

"Even worse, what if she scratched the paint!" Toad exclaimed, mocking his adoptive father.

Alice smiled and laughed softly at their joking. Saddling up to the truck she smiled. "Oh never mind me, I'm just a little ol' woman with nothing in mah head and the urge to run inta anythin' that crosses mah path."

Rain and Max weren't paying attention to any of this banter and were frowning at the truck. "It's nonnegotiable that the babies ride in the cab. They need the protection more then we do." They said softly. "If you drive, dad, and then Alice sits passenger, Alice you can hold the babies, but dad… you'll have to be careful."

Sabertooth nodded his head and helped get everyone settled. Max seemed to have forgotten that Rain was covered in blood and rain snuggled up to him; exhausted from all the excitement. Toad climbed in the back, annoyed but being a good sport about having his place taken from him. The triplets settled down with their backs against the tailgate, looking at the others. David sat down and slew an arm around Keith, artfully covering his jack from the cold knowing how it got cold and uncomfortable in the winter and wind. All of them yawned and didn't think about the problems Alice and her babies were going to cause once they got to the mansion; they just allowed the tranquility of this moment to seem into their bones.

Sabertooth tried to remain focused on the road even though the woman next to him kept distracting him. Alice, totally unaware of the distraction she was providing, checked her sleeping twins to make sure they were okay and sighed leaning back, exhausted like everyone else.

Sabertooth watched her out of the corner of his eye and tried to drive at the same time. _She's beautiful… _

_What are you thinking? She just suffered a serious trauma! _

_Well she was holding on to you pretty tight, and didn't it feel good to have an attractive female body against your again?_

_Well, yeah… but it's still not right!_

_Says who?_

_Everyone!_

_When did we start caring what everyone else thought?_

…

_I'll make you a deal, we won't push her, but if she shows signs of attraction then we'll be there._

_What about Rebecca? _Sabertooth closed his eyes momentarily forgetting he was driving, but knowing the way by heart, as pain, guilt, and sorrow washed over him. _Rebecca_, just the thought of her sent him back into the void where she once was and was now missing. Since she died he hadn't felt anything like what he felt for her. He slept with woman of course, first as a way to forget, then as a way to remember. He loved his daughter and he loved Mystique like a sister but he had never loved a woman for being a woman, not since then.

_Rebecca… well she would want us to move on right? You would have wanted her to move on, we even discussed it before remember? They first time you left for a mission, that if anything happened to you she would find another man, not waste her life pining for you? Remember._

_Yeah I remember. And I remember every time I came home, worrying when I saw her that she'd be with someone else, that she' look at me and the light that she held for me would be gone. Not only that she'd find another man, but that she would see me for the monster I am._

_She's not coming back Victor, she'll never comeback. Ever. It's not possible, you know that. Don't waste your life over someone who is dead. Rebecca was your soul mate… but can't you love someone else too?_

_I don't know Sabertooth… I just don't know. _

Sabertooth sighed and paid closer attention to the road, needing the distraction to keep from reflecting on the stinging in his eyes.

Ever since Rebecca died he seemed to be split in two, Victor, the human he could have been; and Sabertooth, the mutant he was. They were similar enough to get along most of the time, unlike Alex and the nightmare in her head, but different enough that he could distinguish between them. He hadn't been called Victor by anyone but himself since Rebecca was murdered.

With a sigh he pulled up to the house and heard a gasp from beside him. Alice was staring in wonder at the home before her. "What is that?" She whispered.

"Home sweet home." Sabertooth snorted. "It looks scarier then it normal does because Alex ain't here and she doesn't like that."

"She? Did you just call your house a _she_?" Alice asked caught between disbelief and amazement.

"Yeah… to make a long story short, we were looking for a place to stay, a mutant with us, named Erika. Well she was a shape-shifter. And we asked her to shape shift into the house that Alex wanted so that we could get a good idea of the size etc…. well… she kinda got… stuck." Sabertooth ended looking embarrassed.

"Stuck?" Alice asked, unable to hold in her horror.

"Yeah, at first it was really awful, and we tried everything we could to fix her… but then she told us that she preferred it this way… She said that she'd love it if we'd live inside her, so that we could be protected at all times… and she comes in real handy when we need an extra room, or," blushing he continued, "have a hangover and needs it to be real quiet. And we don't have to worry about falling down the stairs or the like… and she gets bigger when she changes and such. It's really cool, but beware cause she changes a lot, ya never know where ya gonna end up. Alex is trying to figure out how she moves people around without disturbing us… but so far no luck."

"Oh." Alice said, feeling way out of her depth and a little lost. "What do you mean she told you she likes it this way? How can she do that if she's a house?"

"Alex figured that one out." Sabertooth said with a little pride in his voice. "She says that Erika is able to shift the sounds that have bounced off her walls, so that she's able to talk with a series of words she's retained that we've already said… or something like that. So she's able to use various words to get her point across, by now she's able to say everything she wants. Once Alex found out what made her able to do that, she read an entire dictionary out loud."

"This Alex sounds… amazing." Alice sighed.

"Yeah, she's mah baby." Sabertooth was going to say more when suddenly the window next to him was pounded on. "Yeah?" He rumbled.

"Come on Dad!" Keith crowed. "Time ta stop flurtin' and get goin'!"

Getting out of the car Alice was met by Rain and Max again, Rain still covered in blood and Max wasn't looking to happy as he was half covered in it as well, they smiled and moved the stroller closer for her to set her now waking up twins in. She smiled at them and watched as they murmured to the babies.

"Where did you boys learn to handle babies?" She asked. Curiosity over her new house mates prompting this. _I might as well learn about them if I'm going to live with them._

She immediately regretted asking as everyone went still, their forward momentum towards the house ceased. Before she could apologize Rain answered her. "We learned it back when we had to take care of Keith and the others." His tone while friendly clearly told her not to ask anymore questions, though his cryptic answer confused her. Why was he taking care of Keith when they had a father around? The others were all looking at the ground and shuffling now. The happiness of a moment ago had dissipated, leaving behind a grim feeling as they approached the mansion again.

Suddenly a man dressed in kaki pants and a black sweater flung the doors open. Streaking past him was a blue mutant and she latched onto the first of the children she reached. This happened to be Keith.

Squeezing him tight she looked just as angry as the man who spoke, anger lacing his voice. "And just where have you been?"

"We didn't tell you that we were leaving for the day?" At the looks Toad's question received he decided that they hadn't been told. "We left to go and… pay a visit to the town that started this all."

"Did you leave any evidence that could connect it to mutants?" Magneto asked worried about the bad publicity.

"I'm sorry Grandfather; but it couldn't be helped." Keith gasped out from the crushing embrace. "Aunt Mystique… I can't breath!"

Mystique did not let go, nor did she loosen the grip she had on him. "You left without telling any of us where you were… what if the military had stayed and they killed or captured you? And whose bright idea was it to go to town?" Her worried tone abruptly changed to a lecturing one.

"That would be me." Sabertooth said raising his hand slightly. He looked as though he instantly regretted it as Mystique and Magneto's eyes snapped to him.

It was Mystique that noticed Alice first. She stared at the human female till Alice shifted nervously. "Who is this?"

Rain and Max both looked up from the strollers they had once again been cooing over to look at Alice who now had everyone's attention. "Mystique this is Alice. Alice this is Mystique and Magneto." They spoke at the same time pointing out the elder members of the brotherhood as they said their names and then turned back to the babies.

"What is she doing here?" Magneto asked his voice deepening in anger.

"She's going to help around with cleaning and stuff. Erika is wonderful but… she can't clean herself without a lot of trouble and she's getting filthy."

"I agree." Came a soft voice from the open door.

Alice jumped at the sudden voice and the others just went on as though Erika was standing with them. "But Erika, do you really think that this is wise?" Mystique asked looking at Alice as though she were the mutant not vice versa.

"It doesn't matter if it's wise or not." David broke in. Magneto and Mystique gave him a startled glance. Usually he would fade into the background or just be a silent presence for Alex, but Alex wasn't here at the moment and he had to stand in her stead. "The decision was made as a Dragon vote and since Erika wa… is a Dragon member she will abide by the decision that we have made." David withheld a wince by mere force of will. He had almost made a blunder that showed how adept he was at handling the leadership role. _Erika was and always will be a member of the Dragons._ The slip of his tongue had damaged his argument and everyone knew it. He plowed right on regardless. "I have decided that Alice will stay here permanently and have unrestricted access to all areas."

Mystique's eyes widened and Magneto straightened. "You do not have the…" He trailed of as he realized that essentially David did have that authority.

"Until Alex returns to counter my decree then I am Alpha around here. I do have the authority." David looked sadly at his Grandfather. "Grandpa, I think that we best leave sooner rather then later, Erika can hold up against anything but I don't want to be stuck here while God knows what is happening to Alex."

"Thankfully I have all of our passports ready and the hotels booked. We can leave in 3 days." Mystique said finally letting go of Keith who jerked away gasping comically.

I am ending this chapter early because I want to update. :-D I'm glad so many of you like my story and I hope that more people update!


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